Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB ANC12FA028
PIPER PA-18 — Sleetmute, AK
| Date | March 31, 2012 |
| Location | Sleetmute, AK |
| Aircraft | PIPER PA-18 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Uncontrolled descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 42 |
| Pilot total time | 1 hrs · Student / very low time |
| Time in type | 1 hrs |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C
- Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Qualification/certification-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
What happened
About 30 minutes after the uncertificated pilot and a passenger departed for a reconnaissance flight, a witness saw the airplane flying "low and slow" over the treetops toward the intended landing site. As the airplane flew toward the landing site threshold, it began a slight right turn, then it nosed down abruptly, and the engine speed increased to a very high rpm setting. The airplane continued the near-vertical, steep descent, and it began a 3/4 spiral turn downward, indicative of an aerodynamic stall, before descending from view into the trees at the approach end of the site. An NTSB on scene wreckage examination of the airplane did not disclose any preimpact mechanical malfunctions. It is likely that the pilot failed to maintain adequate airspeed during the low-altitude approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall from which he could not recover even with the addition of engine power.