Piper PA-31-350 N3547C

Summary

On 12 April 2011 at about 01:27 local time, a Piper PA-31-350 registered N3547C, operated by Airnet Systems Inc, was involved in an accident near Richmond, Virginia, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 April 2011 at 01:27

Classification

Accident

Location

Richmond, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Richmond International Airport (RIC)

Coordinates

37.5083, -77.3292

Aircraft

Piper PA-31-350

Registration

N3547C

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Airnet Systems Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Richmond → Charlotte

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA11LA240

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent impact with the ground.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The twin-engine airplane was scheduled for a routine night cargo flight. Witnesses and radar data described the airplane accelerating down the runway to a maximum ground speed of 97 knots, then entering an aggressive climb before leveling and pitching down. The airplane subsequently impacted a parallel taxiway with its landing gear retracted. Slash marks observed on the taxiway pavement, as well as rotation signatures observed on the remaining propeller blades, indicated that both engines were operating at impact. Additionally, postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airframe or either engine. The as-found position of the cargo placed the airplane within the normal weight and balance envelope, with no evidence of a cargo-shift having occurred, and the as-found position of the elevator trim jackscrew was consistent with a neutral pitch trim setting. According to the airframe manufacturer's prescribed takeoff procedure, the pilot was to accelerate the airplane to an airspeed of 85 knots, increase the pitch to a climb angle that would allow the airplane to accelerate past 96 knots, and retract the landing gear before accelerating past 128 knots. Given the loading and environmental conditions that existed on the night of the accident, the airplane's calculated climb performance should have been 1,800 feet per minute. Applying the prevailing wind conditions about time of the accident to the airplane's radar-observed ground speed during the takeoff revealed a maximum estimated airspeed of 111 knots, and the airplane's maximum calculated climb rate briefly exceeded 3,000 feet per minute. The airplane then leveled for a brief time, decelerated, and began descending, a profile that suggested that the airplane likely entered an aerodynamic stall during the initial climb.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.