- Date
- March 24, 1989, 10:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Mayflower, AR
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N2604NPiper PA-38-112
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 11, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890324004469A
- Case key
- 34675
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 pilots failure to maintain airspeed (vs), and inadvertant entry into a stall with necessary remedial action not understood.
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 stu pilot and his stu pilot rated passenger were flying low over the Arkansas river as OBS by two eyewitnesses located in a boat in a cove near the east bank of the river. The acft disappeared for a brief time until it again was spotted, approaching directly at them at low altitude from the northeast along the finger cove. The eyewitnesses stated the acft flew directly overhead and pulled up sharply into a climb. At the top of the climb the right wing stalled and the aircraft descended rapidly nose down until hitting the water. The aircraft rapidly sank in 30 feet of water before it could be reached. The stu had recently been released for solo trng flts and had asked if passengers were allowed. The stu was instructed that no passengers could be along. Inspection of the acft revealed no pre-existing mechanical defect of flight controls or aircraft eng components.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2604N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 79A0937
- Airframe hours
- 3,811
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Barrett Aviation
- Registered owner
- Barrett, Beverly J.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 11, 1989 · 44 hours before
- Departed
- NLR · N. Little Rock, AR
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
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 50 total · 50 in this make and model · 6 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.