Saturday, March 21, 2020

Collision During Landing: Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee, N6764W; accident occurred March 06, 2018 near Massey Ranch Airpark (X50), New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County, Florida


View of Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee at rest.
  Volusia County Sheriff’s Office
The windshield was blown out, the right door was open, the propeller was buried under the nose of the aircraft and only a partial blade was visible. The engine was pushed back into the cockpit to the area where the instrument panel is supposed to be at. 

View of airplane and struck trees.
 Volusia County Sheriff’s Office

View of airplane at rest with broken tree limb underneath wing.
 Volusia County Sheriff’s Office

View of propeller.
Piper Aircraft  

View of airplane after recovery.

Engine
The engine was removed from the airplane and suspended by a forklift for further examination. The rocker arm covers were removed, and all accessories were removed for examination.

Engine suspended.
There were no anomalies noted that would have resulted in a loss of engine power. The airframe was also examined, and cable continuity was established for all flight controls. Some of the wing cables were cut to facilitate loading the airplane on a trailer; however, the cables could be verified through visual exam. There were no airframe anomalies noted during the exam. 


The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident. 

Additional Participating Entities: 
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Orlando, Florida 
Lycoming Engines; Atlanta, Georgia 
Piper Aircraft; Vero Beach, Florida 

Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

http://registry.faa.gov/N6764W

Location: Edgewater, FL
Accident Number: ERA18LA096
Date & Time: 03/06/2018, 1005 EST
Registration: N6764W
Aircraft: PIPER PA 28
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Collision during takeoff/land
Injuries: 2 Serious
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Instructional 

On March 6, 2018, about 1005 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-140, N6764W, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain while on approach to Massey Ranch Airpark (X50), Edgewater, Florida. The flight instructor and student pilot were seriously injured. The airplane was privately owned and operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed for the local flight.

According to a witness, who was also a pilot, the airplane was on the final approach leg of the airport traffic pattern at "low" altitudes on the previous landings while "doing pattern work." The airplane descended below the treeline, the witness perceived that the airplane's engine power increased before it cleared the treeline prior to continuing the final approach. The witness then left the airport and did not witness the accident sequence.

The pilot and passenger reported to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector that due to the injuries they sustained during the accident, they had no recollection of the events preceding the accident.

Examination of the airplane by the FAA inspector revealed that it impacted the ground in a nose down attitude about 750 ft prior to the threshold of runway 18. The top section of a tree was separated and located beneath the wreckage. In addition, there were several small branches with 45° cuts in them. The inboard section of the left wing was impact crushed aft and the left-wing tip was impact crushed. The outboard section of the right wing was impact crushed aft. The empennage was buckled and the horizontal stabilator and rudder remained undamaged. A total of 25 gallons of aviation fuel was noted in the wing fuel tanks during recovery.

An examination of the engine by an NTSB investigator revealed that it remained attached to the engine mounts. Thumb compression was obtained on all cylinders and crankshaft and valve train continuity were confirmed through the engine and accessories by rotating the propeller through 360° of rotation. The left and right magnetos produced spark on all ignition towers during hand rotation. The propeller remained attached to the engine and chordwise scratching was noted on the blades. The oil suction screen was free of debris and about 4.5 quarts of oil were noted in the engine per the oil dipstick. The carburetor inlet screen and the main fuel strainer were examined and free of debris.

A review of the airframe revealed that flight control continuity was confirmed from the flight controls to the respective flight control surfaces. The fuel selector was tested with low pressure air and no anomalies were noted.

There were no anomalies noted with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation prior to the accident.

Flight Instructor Information

Certificate: Flight Instructor; Commercial
Age: 23, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Multi-engine Land; Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Unknown
Other Aircraft Rating(s): Helicopter
Restraint Used:
Instrument Rating(s): Airplane
Second Pilot Present: Yes
Instructor Rating(s): Airplane Multi-engine; Airplane Single-engine
Toxicology Performed: No
Medical Certification: Class 1
Last FAA Medical Exam: 12/18/2017
Occupational Pilot: Yes
Last Flight Review or Equivalent:
Flight Time: 850 hours (Total, all aircraft)

Student Pilot Information

Certificate: Student
Age:20, Female 
Airplane Rating(s): None
Seat Occupied: Unknown
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used:
Instrument Rating(s): None
Second Pilot Present: Yes
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed: No
Medical Certification: Class 1 Without Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 08/15/2017
Occupational Pilot: No
Last Flight Review or Equivalent:
Flight Time: 2 hours (Total, all aircraft) 

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: PIPER
Registration: N6764W
Model/Series: PA 28 140
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture: 1965
Amateur Built:No 
Airworthiness Certificate: Normal
Serial Number: 28-20890
Landing Gear Type: Tricycle
Seats: 4
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 03/15/2017, Annual
Certified Max Gross Wt.:
Time Since Last Inspection: 15 Hours
Engines: 1 Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time: 3605.53 Hours at time of accident
Engine Manufacturer: LYCOMING
ELT:C91A installed 
Engine Model/Series: O-320 SERIES
Registered Owner: On file
Rated Power: 150 hp
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None 

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: EVB, 10 ft msl
Distance from Accident Site: 4 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 1547 UTC
Direction from Accident Site: 344°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Visibility:  10 Miles
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 11 knots / 15 knots
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual:
Wind Direction: 200°
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual:
Altimeter Setting: 30.03 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: 23°C / 10°C
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: Edgewater, FL (X50)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Destination: Edgewater, FL (X50)
Type of Clearance: None
Departure Time:  EST
Type of Airspace:

Airport Information

Airport: MASSEY RANCH AIRPARK (X50)
Runway Surface Type: Asphalt
Airport Elevation: 10 ft
Runway Surface Condition: Unknown
Runway Used: 18
IFR Approach: None
Runway Length/Width: 4360 ft / 60 ft
VFR Approach/Landing: Traffic Pattern 

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 2 Serious
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Serious
Latitude, Longitude: 28.986944, -80.925833 (est)

Flight Instructor Amrit Ramnarine, 23, and his sister, student pilot Asha Ramnarine, 21, suffered serious injuries when the Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee crashed through some trees and landed on its nose in the backyard of 1049 Roberts Lane, New Smyrna Beach, Florida.


Asha Ramnarine, student pilot.
















1 comment:

  1. I would not consider any portion of the observed flight path stabilized.

    ReplyDelete