Piper PA-28-180 N7521W

Summary

On 31 July 1999 at about 14:20 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N7521W, operated by Wayne E. Huyler, was involved in an accident near Edgewood, New Mexico, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 July 1999 at 14:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Edgewood, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Sandia Airpark Estates (NM51)

Coordinates

35.0801, -106.1707

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N7521W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Wayne E. Huyler

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN99LA132

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's excessive rotation during takeoff, resulting in an inadvertent stall/mush. Factors were the pilot's lack of recent flight experience, and the high density altitude..

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was departing the runway with the intention of performing touch and go landings. He stated that during takeoff, he rotated the airplane at a speed of 65 mph. He looked outside of the cockpit and noticed that the airplane was only 15 ft. above the runway. He verified that the airspeed indicated 65 mph. He leveled the nose of the airplane, and it impacted the runway. He hit his head against the panel, then felt a second impact. That was the last memory the pilot had regarding the accident. Several witnesses observed the airplane rotating at a very high angle of attack. One witness noted that the nose appeared to be pitched up at an angle of 15 to 20 degrees. The witnesses observed the airplane veer to the north side of the runway, then realign with the runway, and drift right again. The aircraft impacted several landing lights off the north side of the runway, then struck a dirt berm, followed by a barb-wire fence. At the time of the accident, the pilot had flown a total of 2.1 hours within the past 90 days, and had accumulated a total of 4.5 hours of flight time in the PA-28. Density altitude at the time of the accident was calculated to be 8,891 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.