PIPER PA-28-161 — Palm Beach Gardens, FL

What happened

About three hours into a cross-country instructional flight, the private pilot and flight instructor were performing a touch-and-go landing when during takeoff, the airplane reached an altitude of 75 ft above ground level (agl), made a right 180° turn, and impacted a pond just beyond the departure end of the runway.

The airplane had undergone significant maintenance in the days before the accident and its maintenance logbooks had not been properly endorsed for flight. The maintenance performed included an engine replacement and modification of the engine’s magnetos, air box, and oil filter. Additionally, the airplane was modified with a backup battery as required by the installation of the electronic magnetos. Despite the lack of documentation regarding the work performed, postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

About 12 to 14 gallons of fuel remained in the left wing fuel tank. The right wing had separated in the pond and the right wing fuel tank was breached. Only pond water was recovered from the right main fuel tank. The fuel selector was found positioned to the right fuel tank. Although a fuel receipt indicated that 18 gallons of fuel was added to the airplane before the flight, the fuel quantity in the right fuel tank at the time of the accident could not be determined due to impact damage.

Based on the available information, it is likely that the engine lost power during takeoff and the pilots attempted to return to the runway with insufficient altitude to complete the turn. The reason for the power loss could not be determined based on the available information.

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