# NTSB investigations: Piper PA-25-235: Loss of control in flight

NTSB aviation accident and incident investigations since 1962: the probable cause, findings, aircraft, crew, weather and docket of each, linked to the FAA registry and the FAA’s own reports.

## Latest cases

- [NTSB ERA26FA214](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA26FA214.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Saratoga Springs, NY · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Preliminary report · May 26, 2026 · N8656L · 2 aircraft · Substantial damage
  > On May 26, 2026, about 1347 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-25-235 airplane, N8656L, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Saratoga Springs, New York. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code…
- [NTSB CEN23LA335](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN23LA335.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Tyler, MN · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Jul 28, 2023 · N7094Z · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s improper flap position during takeoff, which resulted in degraded climb performance and a collision with terrain.
- [NTSB CEN23LA255](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN23LA255.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Westhope, ND · Accident · Serious injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Jun 22, 2023 · N7419Z · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control that resulted in an impact with terrain after takeoff.
- [NTSB ERA23FA234](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA23FA234.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Hollywood, FL · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · May 17, 2023 · N430AB · Destroyed
  > The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of aircraft control.
- [NTSB GAA18CA222](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA18CA222.md): Piper PA 25-235 · Saratoga Springs, NY · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Apr 22, 2018 · N7247Z · Substantial damage
  > The glider pilot’s failure to maintain pitch during a CG aerotow, which resulted in the loss of control of the tow airplane.
- [NTSB ERA18FA006](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA18FA006.md): Piper PA 25-235 · Front Royal, VA · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Oct 7, 2017 · N90866 · Destroyed
  > The tow plane pilot's loss of airplane control for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence. Contributing to the accident was the glider instructor's diversion of attention away from the tow airplane which resulted in his delay in…
- [NTSB CEN16LA332](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA332.md): Piper PA 25-235 · Miller, MO · Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Aug 5, 2016 · N6542Z · Substantial damage
  > The mechanic's improper installation of the left aileron swage fitting, which resulted in an inflight loss of control.
- [NTSB CEN16LA255](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA255.md): Piper PA 25-235 · Arlington, WI · Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jul 3, 2016 · N6803Z · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to establish proper airspeed and angle-of-attack during takeoff with the airplane at its maximum gross weight in elevated density altitude and gusting tailwind conditions, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
- [NTSB CEN14FA230](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN14FA230.md): Piper PA 25-235 · Northglenn, CO · Accident · No injuries · Field investigation · Final report · May 5, 2014 · N4519Y · Destroyed
  > The pilot's decision to operate the banner-tow flight below the minimum safe altitude specified by federal regulation, which likely limited his ability to recover from a potential loss of airspeed due to a gusting wind condition. Also causal was the pilot’s…
- [NTSB CEN13FA259](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13FA259.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Lamar, MO · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · May 5, 2013 · N82509 · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's in-flight loss of control, which was likely due to a sudden cardiac event.
- [NTSB CEN11LA405](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11LA405.md): Piper PA-25-235 · Faith, SD · Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report · Jun 18, 2011 · N7018Z · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's improper turn while maneuvering during an agricultural application flight, which resulted in an inadvertent aerodynamic stall at low altitude.

## The whole list in SQL

Runs in DuckDB 1.2 or later on the release's Parquet files over HTTPS:

```sql
SELECT c."ntsbNumber", c."eventDate", c."eventType", c."eventCity", c."eventStateOrRegion", a.n_number, a."aircraftMake", a."aircraftModel", c."highestInjuryLevel", c."totalFatal", c."completionStatus", c.report_url
FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c."mKey" AND a.position = 1
WHERE c."mKey" IN (SELECT x.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' x WHERE x.aircraft_model_code IN ('7102504')
    AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' s WHERE s.case_mkey = x.case_mkey AND s.aircrafts_position = x.position AND s."tier2Number" = '240' AND s.case_mkey IN (SELECT case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' WHERE "isDefiningEvent")))
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence?model=7102504

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