FTW97FA122

During a flight maneuver to videotape a passenger's residence, the pilot flew the airplane at 4 to 5 feet AGL over a road. The airplane struck a transmission line (23' 3' AGL) that crossed the road tearing off the outboard right wing and the upper rudder. The vertical height from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the vertical stabilizer and rudder measured 5'5'. The upper portion of the rudder, entangled with the transmission line, and 8' 9' of the outboard right wing were found on the road. The pilot reported that the control yoke would not go aft of neutral and the airplane descended with full throttle, suddenly rolling right and impacting the terrain inverted. The videotape shows the airplane in the flight maneuver, and throughout the flight the sound of engine power is audible and there are no visible discrepancies noted with the flight controls. During examination of the airplane, flight control continuity was confirmed and there were no preimpact discrepancies noted. From October 1993 through August 1995 the pilot logged 10.5 hrs in a PA-28R-200 airplane. Since August 1995, the pilot logged 10.0 hrs (including a flight review) in a PA-28-161 airplane.

History of flight:

On March 15, 1997, at 1447 central standard time, a Piper PA-28R-200, N6219J, registered to a private owner and operated under lease by Monarch Air of Dallas, Texas, as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 flight, struck a transmission line while maneuvering near Westminster, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The private pilot received serious injuries, 1 passenger received serious injuries, and 2 passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed. The flight originated from McKinney, Texas, at approximately 1422.

The following information was revealed during interviews, conducted by the IIC, with local authorities, the operator, and witnesses, and on the enclosed written statements. The airplane was rented by the pilot at 1145 and subsequently the flight departed the Addison Airport, Dallas, Texas, on a personal flight. The airplane was observed flying in the vicinity of Anna, Texas. A witness, in his vehicle traveling south on Highway 5, at 1205 observed the airplane flying "with radical swoops back and forth and up and down at 100 feet AGL and at times low down below the tree line." At 1218 another witness observed the airplane at 400 feet AGL flying north to south along Highway 5 and about 2 minutes later observed the airplane "dive like a cropduster and then continue north along the railroad through town at 100 feet AGL." At 1220 this witness observed the aircraft flying northbound, straight and level, at an altitude of approximately 100 feet AGL and noted the registration number, N6219J. Two witnesses located near County Road 423 observed the airplane "flying low over their houses and then back and forth over a field at less than 100 feet AGL." One of these witnesses further reported observing the airplane "sweeping down to the ground, almost touching County Road 423, and going over a house like a spraying maneuver."

Two witnesses, who observed the airplane at approximately 1445 at 1,000 feet to 1,200 feet AGL, described "the engine RPM's as increasing and decreasing, and not operating on all cylinders." Another witness, observing the airplane in a 60 degree left bank, stated that the "motor lost power like possible fuel loss or other problem"; however, "think lost power but pure speculation."

FM 455 road runs east and west with houses and barns located along the road and witnesses observed the airplane maneuvering over the residences and barns located along FM455 road. The witnesses, at approximately 1500, observed the airplane dive toward a barn on the north side of FM455 road, gain speed, fly under the transmission line and strike the line tearing off part of the wing and the rudder. Subsequently the airplane rolled to the left, gained altitude, and went over transmission lines on the north side of FM455 road before impacting in an open field and sliding to a stop. One of the witnesses stated that the airplane was 4 to 5 feet above the road when it started to pull up and struck the wire. The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Collin County Sheriff Department logged the 911 call at 1447. Local authorities and rescue personnel responded to the scene.

During an interview, conducted at Methodist Central Hospital at Dallas, Texas, on March 15, 1997, by the investigator-in-charge (IIC) and a police sergeant, the pilot stated that the flight departed Addison and flew at 8,000 feet toward Oklahoma for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The flight then landed at McKinney where the passenger's son got out of the airplane and his older brother got into the airplane for a local flight. The passenger wanted to photograph his house and the pilot flew the airplane at 400 to 500 feet AGL to the residential area and made a left descending turn to 350 to 375 feet AGL. The pilot did not recall any discrepancies with the airplane and stated that he did not recall the impact sequence.

On April 24, 1997, the IIC conducted a personal interview (summary enclosed) with the pilot and the surviving passenger (pilot's 9 year old son). The pilot confirmed that he performed a preflight and the flight departed Addison Airport, Dallas, Texas, at 1145 with 3 passengers (his 9 year old son in the left rear seat, his son's 10 year old friend in the right rear seat, and this friend's father in the right front seat) for the flight. The pilot maneuvered the airplane in the area of McKinney, Anna, Melissa, Van Alstyne, and Westminster, Texas, and then flew over Lake Texoma where he performed a couple of flight maneuvers. Subsequently, the flight landed at McKinney where the passenger in the right rear seat deplaned and this passenger's brother (15 years old) boarded the flight. The flight departed McKinney and flew toward Westminster where the right front seat passenger was going to video tape his residence. As the flight approached the area, the pilot descended the airplane to 600 feet AGL and performed 2 figure 8's around the passenger's house and then descended to 300 feet AGL in order to video tape the right front seat passenger's brother who was standing near his home. The pilot then climbed to 600 feet AGL made a left turn and descended to 500 feet AGL within the video tape range for the residence.

The pilot stated that at this time, the control yoke would pull to neutral; however, it would not go aft of neutral. The airplane descended 50 to 60 feet each time the pilot pushed the control yoke forward. The pilot tried to trim the nose up; however, he recalled the airplane descended at 500 to 600 fpm with full throttle and the left wing inches off the ground. The pilot stated that he performed the emergency procedures and "turned the fuel selector to the OFF position, the magneto switch to the OFF position and extended the landing gear." When the airplane suddenly rolled right, the pilot applied full left rudder and aileron. The airplane impacted the terrain with the right wing and windshield in an upside down attitude. The pilot's son, using a model, demonstrated the airplane descending toward the ground in an up and down motion.

The date and times on the video tape do not correspond with the date and time of the accident; however, the tape shows the airplane performing flight maneuvers and then approaching the McKinney Airport. Subsequently, the video shows the airplane performing maneuvers in the vicinity of FM455 then descending and flying east bound along FM455 toward the transmission lines that crossed FM455 (width of pavement 40 feet 4 inches). During this portion of the video, residences and barns bordering FM455 and the centerline stripes (10 feet 6 inches long and a stripe to stripe gap of 30 feet 9 inches) along FM455 are visible. Throughout the video, the sound of engine power is audible and there are no visible discrepancies noted with the flight controls.

Personnel information:

A review of FAA records and the pilot's logbook (# 2), by the IIC, revealed that the pilot obtained his private pilot certificate with the single engine land rating on January 12, 1990. The last third class medical was issued to the pilot on March 11, 1997. The flight time logged from October 1993 through August 1995 in a PA-28R-200 airplane was 10.5 hours. From August 1995 through March 1997 there were 10.0 flight hours logged including a biennial flight review that was satisfactorily completed in a PA-28-161 airplane on March 13, 1997. Total flight time in the logbook was 934.6 hours.

Aircraft information:

During interviews, conducted by the IIC, personnel at the fixed base operator (FBO) reported that the airplane was flown twice on March 13, 1997, for a total of 1.7 hours without any reported discrepancies. Following these flights, the airplane was fueled with 12.9 gallons and not flown until the March 15, 1997, flight.

The maintenance records were reviewed by the IIC. The 1976 Piper PA-28R-200, single engine land airplane, S/N 63