Piper PA32 N4078W

Summary

On 9 September 2018 at about 16:17 local time, a Piper PA32 registered N4078W was involved in an accident near Hereford, Texas, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 September 2018 at 16:17

Classification

Accident

Location

Hereford, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Hereford Muni (HRX)

Coordinates

34.8564, -102.3258

Aircraft

Piper PA32

Registration

N4078W

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hereford → Big Lake

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA378

4 people were seriously injured.

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot lost control of the airplane during takeoff; it subsequently impacted the ground near the departure end of the runway and was destroyed. The pilot reported that she had no memory of her preflight activity or takeoff. A witness observed the airplane in a nose-high, tail-low attitude during the takeoff but lost sight of the airplane behind hangars. He noted that the engine sounded like it was at full power. Postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Data recovered from an onboard engine monitor did not reveal any indication of a loss of engine power during takeoff. The airplane was loaded within the gross weight and center-of-gravity limits. Performance data indicated that the available runway length was sufficient for takeoff. It is likely that the pilot overrotated during takeoff and the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall, which resulted in the airplane departing controlled flight and impacting the ground.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.