Cessna 177 N3431T

Summary

On 29 October 2009 at about 17:31 local time, a Cessna 177 registered N3431T, operated by David S. Bentley, was involved in an accident near Christiansted, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 October 2009 at 17:31

Classification

Accident

Location

Christiansted, United States

Nearest airport

Henry E. Rohlsen (TISX)

Coordinates

17.7189, -64.7914

Aircraft

Cessna 177

Registration

N3431T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

David S. Bentley

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Christiansted → Charlotte Amali

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10FA037

3 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to ensure proper loading of the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and a passenger, a perspective flight student, completed a preflight inspection of the airplane. Another passenger subsequently approached the airplane with two heavy bags. The first passenger put the larger bag in the baggage compartment, behind the rear seat. The second passenger then walked around the airplane and sat in the back seat with the smaller bag. During the takeoff, witnesses stated that the airplane appeared slow, with a nose-high pitch attitude, and an immediate dip of the right wing. They recalled the initial climb out was also low and slow. The tower controller asked the pilot if he was experiencing any difficulty, and the pilot responded that he was, and was going to turn back to the airport. A witness noted that the airplane appeared to be having difficulty gaining altitude, that the wings were moving up and down, and that the propeller was spinning. The airplane then made a sudden, sharp left turn and descended to the ground. A postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical anomalies. Damage was consistent with a left-turning stall/spin at impact. The airplane's observed nose-high attitude, and pitch trim found in the full nose-down position, indicated the likelihood that the airplane was loaded with an aft center of gravity.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.