Piper PA-28-140 N5535U

Summary

On 28 August 1999 at about 17:45 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N5535U was involved in an accident near Pawnee City, Nebraska, 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

28 August 1999 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Pawnee City, Nebraska, United States

Nearest airport

Pawnee City Airport (50K)

Coordinates

40.1103, -96.1492

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N5535U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Grand Island

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI99LA313

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane took off from a 3,375' turf runway to the northwest. The pilot said he rotated the airplane at 80 mph and started his climb out. At approximately 100 feet above the ground, he noticed the airplane begin to descend. 'The plane started to settle in as if [the] lift was gone.' The pilot checked his airspeed indicator to be sure it read 80 mph or better, which it did. He said he didn't notice any drop in engine power. At this same time, the nose of the airplane began to turn towards the west. 'Nose of the plane was pushed towards [the] left - no wing drop in turn.' The pilot said he remembered clipping at least two trees, but not hitting the ground. Following the accident, the pilot noticed a strong wind out of the southeast. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the wing flaps were up. No other anomalies were found.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.