Piper PA 22-150 accident near Las Vegas, NM
On August 9, 2017, a Piper PA 22-150 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Las Vegas, NM. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 9, 2017
- Place
- Las Vegas, NM
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 22-150 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 35.487°N, 104.594°W
- NTSB ID
- 20170813X45713
Official records · CEN17FA315
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 9, 2017, about 1025 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-22-150 airplane, N3664Z, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near Las Vegas, New Mexico. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was privately owned and was operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the area, and no flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed Dalhart Municipal Airport (DHT), Dalhart, Texas, at 0640, and was en route to Santa Fe Municipal Airport (SAF), Santa Fe, New Mexico. The pilot had recently purchased the accident airplane and took possession of it in Tennessee. On August 3 and 4, the pilot received 1.5 hours of local instruction in the accident airplane. According to personnel at the DHT fixed base operator, the pilot departed DHT for SAF the day before the accident but returned due to weather. The pilot again departed for SAF the morning of the accident. The pilot was not in contact with air traffic control during the flight; however, a search of radar data found targets correlated to the accident airplane. The data captured the airplane as it departed from DHT and flew southwest until it passed Obar, New Mexico, when it turned west. After passing Bell Ranch, New Mexico, the airplane continued west, then northwest. The airplane made several large s-turns and flew east of San Miguel Ranch Airport (NM53) before turning north and continuing a right turn until radar contact was lost, as shown in the figure below. The last radar return was about 1.
Probable cause
The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack while maneuvering to land, which resulted in an accelerated stall and the pilot’s subsequent loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the gap in the pilot’s flight experience, his limited recent flight experience, and his limited instruction in the accident airplane.
More accidents in NM
- Gates Learjet 25D, Sep 5, 1993
- Piper PA-32-300, Dec 26, 1982
- Mitsubishi MU-2B-30, Jun 25, 1992
- Cessna 421C, Feb 11, 1985
- Beech 58, Mar 26, 1982
Browse: New Mexico · 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.
