Aviat A N211AM

Summary

On 13 July 2017 at about 15:40 local time, a Aviat A registered N211AM, operated by Swgb Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Herriman, Utah, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 July 2017 at 15:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Herriman, Utah, United States

Coordinates

40.4856, -112.1736

Aircraft

Aviat A

Registration

N211AM

Category

Airplane

Year built

2000

Engines

1

Operator

Swgb Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Jordan → West Jordan

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR17FA149

2 people died.

The flight instructor's decision to conduct a low-altitude flight into a box canyon in high density altitude conditions and his failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering to escape the canyon, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and pilot receiving instruction, departed on an instructional flight and proceeded toward mountainous terrain. A witness saw the airplane in a box canyon and reported that the airplane made a steep right turn and the nose dropped. To the witness, it appeared that the airplane was trying to escape the box canyon and that the speed of the airplane increased after the nose of the airplane dropped. The witness lost sight of the airplane behind terrain. Shortly thereafter, the witness saw smoke coming from the area where he had last seen the airplane. The wreckage was subsequently located by law enforcement personnel on down sloping terrain. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no preaccident mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The density altitude at the departure airport was 7,000 ft mean sea level (msl); the density altitude in the area of the accident site was over 10,000 ft msl. Given the high-density altitude it is likely that the airplane performance was decreased, and there was not enough engine power available for the airplane to climb out of the box canyon. It is also likely that as a result of the turn, the true airspeed increased the radius of the turn, and the pilot would have attempted to compensate and increased the bank angle and exceeded the airplanes critical angle of attack resulting in a stall.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.