Piper PA34 accident near Gainesville, TX
On July 28, 2019, a Piper PA34 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Gainesville, TX. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 28, 2019
- Place
- Gainesville, TX
- Aircraft
- Piper PA34 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 33.660°N, 97.195°W
- NTSB ID
- 20190728X20046
Official records · CEN19FA238
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 28, 2019, about 1609 central daylight time, a Piper PA-34, N456AG, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Gainesville, Texas. The flight instructor and pilot receiving instruction were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. According to Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) flight tracking data, the airplane departed Denton Enterprise Airport (DTO), Denton, Texas, at 1440, flew two visual approaches at DTO, then climbed to the northwest and maneuvered between 4,000 and 5,000 ft mean sea level (msl). The airplane then descended toward GLE from the west, then entered a left downwind to Runway 18, and completed several takeoffs and landings. (See Figure 1.) Figure 1. ADS-B Flight Track of Airplane The last recorded ADS-B data showed the airplane about 3,200 ft north of the Runway 18 threshold at 75 knots ground speed and about 250 ft above ground level. The airplane subsequently impacted the ground about 1,500 ft left of Runway 18. (See Figure 2.) A post impact fire ensued. Figure 2. Aerial View of Accident Site and Runway 18 PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot receiving instruction failed the training company’s Stage 1 flight check for his commercial rating two times before the accident flight. According to company records, the pilot struggled with basic aircraft control and had a lack of situational awareness. During both flight checks, the pilot did not maintain positive control of the airplane during simulated engine failures in the traffic pattern.
Probable cause
The pilots’ failure to maintain airspeed while on final approach with asymmetric engine power, which resulted in a loss of control.
More accidents in TX
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Browse: Texas · 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.
