Piper PA24 accident near Valparaiso, IN
On December 13, 2018, a Piper PA24 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Valparaiso, IN. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 13, 2018
- Place
- Valparaiso, IN
- Aircraft
- Piper PA24 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.452°N, 87.004°W
- NTSB ID
- 20181213X45528
Official records · CEN19FA044
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 13, 2018, at 1044 central standard time, a Piper PA24-250 airplane, N6785P, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Valparaiso, Indiana. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Witnesses, including a flight instructor, reported seeing the accident airplane take off from runway 9. When the airplane was a few hundred feet above the runway, the right wing dropped; the airplane entered a spin to the right and subsequently impacted the ground. Surveillance video captured the final portion of the accident sequence. The airplane could be seen entering the frame of the video in a right bank. The airplane then entered a spin to the right, which continued until it impacted the ground in a near-vertical attitude. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe airplane impacted the ground about 3,700 ft east of the approach end of runway 9 and 250 ft south of the runway centerline. The airplane was facing east and displayed crushing of the forward fuselage and the leading edges of both wings. There was wrinkling of the fuselage skin aft of the cabin. The wings and tail surfaces remained attached to the fuselage and all control surfaces remained attached. Examination of the airplane after its removal from the site revealed that all control system cables were intact from the cockpit controls to their respective control surfaces. Examination of the engine confirmed compression and suction on the forward 4 cylinders. The aft 2 cylinders did not initially produce compression d
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall and spin.
More accidents in IN
- Pilatus PC-12, May 25, 2011
- Mitsubishi MU-2B-60, Sep 11, 1992
- Cessna 310N, Nov 20, 1984
- Cessna T303, Nov 14, 2006
- Cessna U206G, Apr 21, 2006
Browse: Indiana · 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.
