Covey Tri Quickie accident near Gila Bend, AZ
On June 15, 2021, a Covey Tri Quickie (airplane) was involved in an accident near Gila Bend, AZ. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 15, 2021
- Place
- Gila Bend, AZ
- Aircraft
- Covey Tri Quickie · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 32.945°N, 112.714°W
- NTSB ID
- 20210615103267
Official records · WPR21FA227
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On June 15, 2021, about 0820 mountain standard time, an experimental, amateur-built Tri-Quickie, N8054Y, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Gila Bend, Arizona. The pilot was seriously injured, and the pilot-rated passenger was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot had recently purchased the airplane and was flying it home to Texas from California. A friend of the pilot reported that he had told the pilot not to take a passenger with him on the trip until he had more experience in the airplane. According to the airport manager, the pilot and passenger arrived at the airport the evening before the accident and refueled the airplane that evening with 17.5 gallons of 100 low-lead aviation fuel. The pilot and passenger departed the following morning from runway 4 on the accident flight. A witness reported that he was working on his airplane when he saw two men perform a preflight and then board the accident airplane. The pilot started the engine and taxied the airplane to the runway hold short line where it sat for about 20 minutes with the engine running before the airplane departed. During the takeoff run, about a 1/3 of the way down the 5,200-ft-long runway, the witness observed a dirt cloud and surmised that the landing gear must have departed the runway surface. The airplane returned to the runway centerline and continued down the runway; about halfway down the runway, it appeared that the airplane was “yanked off the runway” and it “struggled” to gain altitude. The witness
Probable cause
The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during the takeoff initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control. Contributing to the accident was the reduced airplane performance due to high density altitude conditions.
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Browse: Arizona
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
