# NTSB CEN16LA366: Piper PA 18, N3286Z, Greenville, MI, September 11, 2016 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 11, 2016, 15:58 local (19:58 UTC) - Place: Greenville, MI - Coordinates: 43.139167, -85.256111 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.1392&lon=-85.2561&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Initial climb: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 2 serious - Status: Completed, report January 18, 2017 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 93991 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN16LA366 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/93991/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93991 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA366 ## Probable cause The pilot's premature turn during the takeoff climb and subsequent turn to avoid trees, which resulted in his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle-of-attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: angle of attack](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Capability exceeded (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 990 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: airspeed](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,681 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Initial climb: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,529 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md) - [Initial climb: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240); cases with it: [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) - [Uncontrolled descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The private pilot reported that, during the takeoff climb for the personal cross-country flight, he turned the airplane too early and at too low of an altitude to clear the trees ahead. The pilot then turned the airplane to avoid the trees, and it stalled. As he continued to try to maneuver the airplane away from the trees, the airplane entered a secondary stall, descended, and impacted terrain in a vertical attitude. There were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane, engine, or related systems that would have precluded normal operation. ## Factual narrative On September 11, 2016, at 1558 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-18 airplane, N3286Z, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain southwest of the Greenville Municipal Airport (6D6), Greenville, Michigan. The private pilot and passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight . Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight plan had been filed for the flight. The flight was originating at the time of the accident and was en route to Hillsdale Municipal Airport (JYM), Hillsdale, Michigan. According to the written statement submitted to the National Transportation Safety Board by the pilot, the airplane departed from runway 28. The pilot turned the airplane on course prior to reaching an altitude sufficient to clear the trees south of the runway. The pilot turned the airplane to avoid the trees and stalled the airplane. As he continued to try and maneuver the airplane away from the trees the airplane entered a secondary stall, descended, and impacted terrain on the south side of the airport about 100 yards southwest of the grass airstrip. The airplane impacted the ground in a vertical attitude and the fuselage and wings were crushed. According to the FAA inspector who responded to the accident, there were no mechanical anomalies with the airframe, engine, or flight controls that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: N3286Z (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA 18 (95) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18-7208 - Year built: 1959 - Airframe hours: 4015.2 - Engines: Continental Motors C90-12F 90 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, August 15, 2016 - Departed: 6D6, Greenville, MI - Destination: JYM, Hillsdale, MI - Airport: 6D6, Greenville Municipal Airport, runway 28, 4,199 × 75 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Handheld GPS, Satellite tracking device ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 24; injuries: serious; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review August 11, 2016; seat: front; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 361.8 total, 226.8 in this make and model, 31.2 in the last 90 days, 50 in the last 30 days, 3.7 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 260° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 5,000 ft broken - Temperature: 72 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 30.17 inHg - Observed at: KY70, 15 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20160911017559A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160911017559A), Sep 11, 2016: Piper PA-18, Greenville, MI, Substantial damage. On September 11, 2016 at 15:58 eastern daylight time (EDT), a Piper PA-18 aircraft, N3286Z, [privacy data omitted] operated by a private pilot for a personal… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 1, 2016, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93991. 1.0 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 909 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40446858&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - FAA Record of Conversation (item 2, .PDF, 97 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40446859&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=FAA%20Record%20of%20Conversation-Master.PDF - Record of Conversation with FAA Inspector (item 3, .PDF, 29 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40446860&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation%20with%20FAA%20Inspector-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.