Czech Sport Aircraft Piper Sport accident near Santa Monica, CA
On September 8, 2022, a Czech Sport Aircraft Piper Sport (airplane) was involved in an accident near Santa Monica, CA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 8, 2022
- Place
- Santa Monica, CA
- Aircraft
- Czech Sport Aircraft Piper Sport · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 34.018°N, 118.448°W
- NTSB ID
- 20220909105890
Official records · WPR22FA338
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- FAA Smo Tower Audio Recording: Audio recording (WAV), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
History of Flight On September 8, 2022, about, 1626 Pacific daylight time, a Czech Sport Aircraft, Piper Sport, N126WK, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident in Santa Monica, California. The flight instructor and passenger were fatally injured. The light-sport airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 instructional flight. The flight was an introductory flight lesson for the passenger with a flight school based at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO). Automatic dependent surveillance - broadcast (ADS-B) data indicated that the airplane departed from runway 21 at 1551, then flew the runway heading and turned to the west after reaching the Pacific shoreline a few minutes later. The airplane continued to fly west along the coast, at altitudes varying between 600 and 2,775 ft mean sea level (msl). After performing a series of left 180° turns, the airplane reached Malibu. The airplane then turned inland around the Pointe Dume Peninsula, and then east along the coast toward Santa Monica. During the return leg, the airplane performed two 360° steep turn maneuvers, and by 1622, the airplane had joined the right downwind leg for runway 21 at the traffic pattern altitude of 1,200 ft msl. By the time the airplane had reached the turn for the traffic pattern’s base leg, it had climbed to 1,375 ft msl and began to descend, reaching 600 ft once it was established on final about 1.25 miles from the runway threshold. Multiple witnesses observed the airplane land on runway 21, with one describing the landing as “hard.” The witnesses stated
Probable cause
The pilot’s inability to maintain control of the airplane during the landing flare due to the passenger’s excessive control inputs, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and entering an aerodynamic stall.
More accidents in CA
- Douglas MD-83, Feb 1, 2000
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Browse: California
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
