PIPER PA28R — Churchville, MD

What happened

The pilot told a mechanic that he was planning to remain in the airport traffic pattern to make sure the airplane was ready for a long cross-country flight the next morning. An earwitness reported hearing the airplane begin its takeoff roll and continued to hear engine noises for a total of about 45 seconds until the airplane impacted the ground. The one eyewitness described the airplane as being in a steep left turn with the wings perpendicular to the ground just before it impacted the terrain. The accident occurred on the first flight after having a new interior and propeller installed, and after the completion of an annual inspection.

Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

The ground impact scars at the accident site, compact distribution of wreckage, and the eyewitness statement were consistent with the airplane entering an aerodynamic stall and left rotating spin in the left crosswind segment of the traffic pattern. At impact, the landing gear were selected to the down position and the flaps were set to the full position, which was not consistent with the with the configurations in the airframe manufacturer’s operating manual for either normal or short-field takeoff procedures. It is possible that this configuration, particularly the fully extended flaps, degraded the airplane’s climb performance and contributed to the aerodynamic stall.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.