Aircraft Mfg & Dvlpmt Co CH601XLi SLSA accident near Towanda, PA
On July 19, 2017, an Aircraft Mfg & Dvlpmt Co CH601XLi SLSA (airplane) was involved in an accident near Towanda, PA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 19, 2017
- Place
- Towanda, PA
- Aircraft
- Aircraft Mfg & Dvlpmt Co CH601XLi SLSA · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.719°N, 76.463°W
- NTSB ID
- 20170719X32048
Official records · ERA17FA248
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 19, 2017, at 1130 eastern daylight time, an Aircraft Manufacturing & Design (AMD) CH601XLi special light sport airplane (S-LSA), N601PH, was destroyed when it collided with terrain shortly after takeoff from Bradford County Airport (N27), Towanda, Pennsylvania. The student pilot, who was also the owner of the airplane, was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight, which departed about 1110. Several witnesses at N27 reported that the pilot departed the traffic pattern for a 20-minute local flight before returning to the airport to perform touch-and-go landings on runway 23. The first touch-and-go appeared normal. During takeoff following the second touch-and-go landing, the engine seemed to be producing partial power during initial climb; one witness reported, "It was clearly behind the power curve." The airplane climbed on runway heading and the airplane "stalled and recovered three times." The airplane made a shallow turn to the right, then, about 1 1/2 miles southwest of the airport, it made a shallow left turn south towards rising terrain. Shortly thereafter, the pilot declared an emergency over the airport's common traffic advisory frequency, stating that he was attempting to return to the airport. The pilot continued the left turn back toward the airport. During the turn, the left wing dropped; the airplane descended at a steep angle and impacted trees and rising terrain. Witnesses ob
Probable cause
A partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information, and the pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during an attempted return to the airport, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to return to the airport following a partial loss of engine power
More accidents in PA
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Browse: Pennsylvania
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
