- Date
- July 7, 1991, 09:20 local (15:20 UTC)
- Place
- Denver, CO
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N8256RPiper PA-28-161
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910707026409A
- Case key
- 18027
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Improper planning/decision by the pilot. Factors related to the accident were: a tail wind, the high density altitude, the pilot's failure to properly lean the mixture, and his failure to use all available runway.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot selected 25 degrees of flaps and took off on runway 26L from intersection B5 (4465 feet of runway available, 10,004 feet total length). He said the airplane climbed to about 300 feet AGL, then the stall warning horn sounded. When he lowered the nose to increase airspeed, the airplane descended. When he raised the nose to check the descent, the stall warning horn again sounded. This situation continued until the pilot was forced to make a controlled crash into a tree in a residential neighborhood. Density altitude was computed to be 7181 feet. The winds were from 010 degrees at 21 knots, gusting to 30 knots. Reportedly, the pilot enriched the mixture before taking off, then confirmed the throttle and mixture were 'fully open' after the stall warning horn sounded. He noted that the tachometer for the fixed pitch propeller was indicating 2400 RPM at maximum power.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8256R
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-161
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-8116017
- Airframe hours
- 4,328
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D3G, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Nassau Flyers, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Nassau Flyers, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 14, 1991 · 52 hours before
- Destination
- SAF · Santa Fe, NM
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- DEN · Stapleton International, runway 26L, 10,004 × 150 ft, concrete
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 269 total · 48 in this make and model · 190 as pilot in command · 34 in the last 90 days · 29 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 21 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 15,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.