Piper PA-28-140 accident near Fort Washington, MD
On May 17, 1998, a Piper PA-28-140 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Fort Washington, MD. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 17, 1998
- Place
- Fort Washington, MD
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-140 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 38.729°N, 76.999°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X10101
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 17, 1998, at 1416 eastern daylight time, N4537R, a Piper PA-28-140 was destroyed and consumed by fire after it collided with trees after takeoff from the Potomac Airfield Airport, Fort Washington, Maryland. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The certificated flight instructor (CFI) was fatally injured, the pilot rated passenger (PRP) sustained minor injuries, and the passenger was seriously injured. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, and the intended destination was Annapolis, Maryland. According to the private PRP, seated in the left front seat, the purpose of the flight was to familiarize him with instrument flight rules operations. Prior to the accident flight, the instructor took a passenger for an introductory flight. After the airplane landed, the instructor in the right front seat directed the passenger to sit in the right rear seat. The PRP said that he back taxied the airplane to get more runway, because runway 6 was short and there were trees at the departure end of the runway. According to the PRP, shortly after rotation the instructor took over the controls and performed, "...what I thought was a maximum climb takeoff. He did not want me to do anything but sit there...I felt the plane sink after we were over the trees. It then crashed in the woods... ." The PRP was interviewed by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector. He said that they did not use flaps for takeoff, "...they rotated at 70 knots and climbed at 70 knots...they did not compute the takeoff distance for
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall and collision with trees.
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Browse: Maryland · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
