- Date
- May 26, 1991, 13:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Folsom, LA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N6181WPiper PA-28-140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 14, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910526017169A
- Case key
- 23262
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 inadvertent stall. Factors were the pilot's poor judgement in performing the buzzing maneuver and his lack of experience.
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 student pilot had notified his brother to photograph the low altitude maneuvers over his residence. Multiple witnesses reported that the airplane was observed to be operating at a low altitude estimated to be 40 to 100 feet above ground level. On a right turn back to the brother's location control of the airplane was lost. The airplane, which was banked in excess of 45 degrees, stalled, rolled right to an inverted position, and impacted the terrain in an 80 degree nose low attitude.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6181W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-20204
- Airframe hours
- 3,552
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Thomas Eiermann, doing business as Top Gun Aviation
- Registered owner
- William J. Mcnabb
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 12, 1991 · 52 hours before
- Departed
- 0R9 · Hammond, LA
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
- 19
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 30 total · 23 in this make and model · 4 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- NEW, 37 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.