- Date
- May 15, 2021, 14:10 local (21:10 UTC)
- Place
- Las Vegas, NV
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N1996TPiper PA-28R-200
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Brownell
- Case key
- 103205
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 flight instructor’s failure to compensate for a downdraft during takeoff, which resulted in a loss of control and collision with terrain.
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
The flight instructor reported that, they configured the airplane for takeoff and noted there was a substantial crosswind. During takeoff, as the airplane reached about 50 ft above ground level (agl), the airplane encountered a downdraft, and the flight instructor was unable to maintain altitude. The airplane descended and collided in the ditch located between the parallel runways. The airplane wing tips contacted the ground and the airplane spun around coming to rest in the opposite direction of travel. The right wing was substantially damaged. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1996T
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-7135188
- Built
- 1971
- Airframe hours
- 5,509
- Engine
- Lycoming IO360-C1C, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- US Aviators
- Registered owner
- Perez Guillermo R
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 25, 2021 · 9 hours before
- Destination
- VNY · Van Nuys, CA
- Airport
- HND · Henderson Exec, runway 17R/35L, 6,501 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 32
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 930 total · 12 in this make and model · 705 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 23
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 147 total · 9 in this make and model · 55 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 17 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.67 inHg
- Observed at
- KHND
- METAR
- KHND 152114Z 21017/G21KT 10SM CLR 33/M06 A2967
Other investigations on N1996T · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.