# NTSB LAX06LA182: Piper PA-28-140, N6309W, Eagar, AZ, May 26, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 26, 2006, 08:00 local (15:00 UTC) - Place: Eagar, AZ - Coordinates: 34.107776, -109.360275 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.1078&lon=-109.3603&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 29, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 63786 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX06LA182 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/63786/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06LA182 ## Probable cause the flight instructor's failure to attain and maintain the proper climb airspeed, which resulted in a stall/mush. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, takeoff - initial climb - airspeed - not obtained/maintained, pilot in command(cfi) (cause) - stall/mush - encountered, pilot in command(cfi) (cause) - Forced landing, emergency landing after takeoff - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, emergency landing after takeoff - terrain condition - rock(s)/boulder(s) ## Analysis The airplane settled down onto rocky upsloping terrain after a climb rate was not achieved in the takeoff initial climb. The flight instructor said he and the 3-hour primary student had been doing pattern work, and completed one flight around the pattern prior to the accident. On the accident takeoff, they had been doing a high-speed taxi on the 8,000-foot runway. He reported that he was on the controls (throttle and ailerons), and the student was on the rudders. The instructor was adding and reducing power to get the student used to maintaining directional control of the airplane and countering the left turning tendency encountered with power application. As he added power to takeoff, he noted 2,300 revolutions per minute (rpm). After liftoff, he said that the airplane was not climbing, and the engine sounded normal and was not stuttering or missing. The instructor indicated there was rising terrain ahead and houses in the area, so he decided a forced landing into rising terrain was the best option. There were also power lines located in front of them. He knew that he would have to give up the airspeed in order to get over the power lines. He said that he "lowered the nose to get best angle of climb airspeed" and noted only a 50 fpm climb. After clearing the power lines he made the forced landing. A sheriff's deputy who responded to the site reported that the accident location was 3 miles west of the airport. He noted landing gear skid marks in the rocky terrain. The airplane struck a small tree and came to rest upright facing towards the west. The deputy further noted that the landing gear wheels had separated from the airplane. The deputy interviewed the student pilot, who stated that after takeoff they were "not able to gain their normal airspeed." ## Factual narrative On May 26, 2006, about 0800 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-28-140, N6309W, made a forced landing in rocky terrain at Eagar, Arizona. Kestrel Aviation, Inc., operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as an instructional flight. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The certified flight instructor (CFI) was not injured, and the student pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge interviewed the CFI. He and the student had been doing pattern work at the municipal airport in the town of Springerville, Arizona. They had completed one flight around the pattern prior to the accident. On the accident takeoff from runway 21, they had been doing a high-speed taxi on the 8,000-foot runway. He reported that he was on the controls (throttle and ailerons), and the student was on the rudders. The CFI was adding and reducing power to get the student used to the directional control of the airplane (left turning tendency). As the CFI added power to takeoff, he noted 2,300 revolutions per minute (rpm). After liftoff, he said that the airplane was not climbing, and the engine sounded normal, but was still only producing 2,300 rpm; not the 2,500 rpm that was normal. The engine was not stuttering or missing, and the airplane was not climbing. The CFI indicated there were houses and rising terrain in the area. There were also power lines. He knew that he would have to give up airspeed in order to get over the power lines. He lowered the nose to get the best angle of climb airspeed, and noted a 50 fpm rate of climb. After clearing the power lines, he made the forced landing. When the CFI noted that the airplane was not climbing, he checked the magnetos and mixture, but did not apply the carburetor heat. He said that it was dry and warm outside, and he did not believe that carburetor ice was an issue. He had the airplane configured for takeoff; the mixture was at a lean setting, and one notch of flaps. He attempted to readjust the mixture during the event, but that did not work. He also indicated that he did not raise the flaps, because the airplane would have settled. He noted the weather as calm winds, clear, and about 65 to 70 degrees. They used the calm wind runway 21. The CFI stated that he normally flies early in the morning with his students for density altitude considerations. The airplane had plenty of fuel onboard. A deputy from the Apache County Sheriff's Office reported that the accident site was 3 miles west of the Springerville airport in the neighboring town of Eagar. He noted landing gear skid marks in the rocky terrain. The airplane struck a small tree, and came to rest upright facing towards the west. The deputy further noted that the landing gear wheels had separated from the airplane. The deputy interviewed the student pilot, who indicated that after takeoff they were "not able to gain their normal airspeed." He noted their airspeed at 65 miles per hour (mph), with 2,000 rpm. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector interviewed the CFI. The CFI indicated that after applying power to takeoff, he noted they had no more available runway left in which to make the forced landing. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6309W](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6309W-2007-03-07), registration cancelled 2007-03-07, S/N 28-20354, built 1964 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-28-140 - Registry model: [Piper PA-28-140](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-140) (registry code 7102802) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 28-20354 - Airframe hours: 2647 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-E2A 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Kestrel Aviation, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, April 1, 2006 - Departed: D68, Springerville, AZ - Destination: D68 - Airport: D68, Springervile Municipal Airport, runway 21, 8,417 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 69; injuries: none; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; seat: right; flight hours: 3,177 total, 1,864 in this make and model, 14 in the last 90 days, 5 in the last 30 days - Student pilot; injuries: none; flight hours: 3 total, 3 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 25 °F - Altimeter: 29.97 inHg - Observed at: SJN ## 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 20060526010069A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060526010069A), May 26, 2006: Piper PA28140, Springerville, AZ, Substantial damage. (-23) At about 07:30 on may 26, 2006, at the Springerville airport a PA-28-140, N6309W, took off from runway 21, for the second flight of the day and for the… ## Other investigations on N6309W (1) 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. - [NTSB UNK65X1255](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/UNK65X1255), Jan 8, 1965: Piper PA28 (N6309W), Ridgeland, SC, substantial damage 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.