Piper PA28R accident near Churchville, MD
On July 25, 2023, a Piper PA28R (airplane) was involved in an accident near Churchville, MD. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- July 25, 2023
- Place
- Churchville, MD
- Aircraft
- Piper PA28R · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 39.580°N, 76.209°W
- NTSB ID
- 20230726192711
Official records · ERA23FA313
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 25, 2023, about 1906 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-200, N34PT, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Churchville, Maryland. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The airport manager, who was also the owner of the fixed base operator (FBO) at the airport where the airplane was based, reported that he spoke with the pilot the morning of the accident. He reported that the pilot was frustrated that the new interior for the airplane had taken so long to be installed as he was planning to leave the next day to have the airplane’s avionics upgraded. He also added that the purpose of the flight was for the pilot to complete some flights in the airport traffic pattern with the new propeller installed before the long cross-country flight the following morning. The airport manager left the airport about 1850 as the pilot was completing his preflight inspection of the airplane. A mechanic for the FBO reported that he spoke with the pilot just before the accident flight and that the pilot told him about the upcoming trip to Florida the next day and that he wanted to take the airplane for a test flight just to make sure the airplane was performing normally before the long cross-country flight. The mechanic also reported that he had fueled the airplane’s wing tanks to the “tabs” the day before the accident, as the fuel had been drained to facilitate a new weight and balance calculation due to maintenance that had been recently compl
Probable cause
The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin and loss of control that the pilot did not recover from.
More accidents in MD
- Aerospatiale SA365N-1 D, Sep 28, 2008
- Robinson Helicopter R44, Jul 24, 2009
- Cessna 172P, Mar 16, 2002
- Beech B24R, Apr 23, 1994
- Piper PA-28R-201T, Jul 31, 1989
Browse: Maryland · 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.
