- Date
- May 11, 2014, 13:45 local (17:45 UTC)
- Place
- Roxbury, PA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N209SPSam R Peachey Just Aircraft Highla
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 5, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- FAA report
- 20140511009199A
- Case key
- 89192
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
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during low altitude maneuvering.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the pilot, he was flying about 500 feet above the ground, dropping candy to children as part of a church outing. He encountered a "rotor" wind off the nearby mountain and when he initiated a turn, the wing stalled. He lost control of the airplane and crashed near a church camp. The airplane came to rest, inverted. An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration examined the airplane and confirmed substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and empennage. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, he was flying about 500 feet above the ground, dropping candy to children as part of a church outing. He encountered a "rotor" wind off the nearby mountain and when he initiated a turn, the wing stalled. He lost control of the airplane and crashed near a church camp. The airplane came to rest, inverted. An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration examined the airplane and confirmed substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and empennage. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N209SP
- Reported as
- Sam R Peachey Just Aircraft Highla (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- JA236-04-11
- Built
- 2011
- Airframe hours
- 168
- Engine
- Rotax 912 UL, 80 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Peachey Sam R
- Registered owner
- Peachey Sam R
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · September 25, 2013 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- N68 · Chambersburg, PA
- Destination
- N68 · Chambersburg, PA
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
- 56
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 18, 2013
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 4,250 total · 168 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- HGR, 17 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 22, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.7 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.