ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 269405
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Friday 5 November 2021 |
| Time: | 19:26 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N8924Y |
| MSN: | 30-1997 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1969 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 6723 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-320 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Rock Hill (York County) Airport-Bryant Field (UZA), Rock Hill, SC -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | La Grange-Calloway Airport, GA (LGC/KLGC) |
| Rock Hill Airport, SC (RKH/KUZA) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On November 5, 2021, about 1926 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-30, N8924Y, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Rock Hill (York County) Airport-Bryant Field (UZA), Rock Hill, South Carolina. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot had recently purchased the airplane and departed on a multileg flight to pick up the airplane and its logbook and return to the pilot’s home airport. Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data showed that about 2 hours into the last leg of the flight, the pilot descended and began to maneuver several miles from the intended airport. At that time, the pilot initiated several phone calls to a mechanic to report that the landing gear circuit breaker kept popping. The mechanic provided guidance on the manual gear extension process. About 45 minutes later, during the final call to the mechanic, the pilot stated that he needed to add “some power,” and then the call dropped. At that time ADS-B data showed the airplane at an altitude of 1,025 ft mean sea level (msl) and a groundspeed of 63 knots.
Examination of the engines and airframe revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. All landing gear were in the downand-locked positions at the time of the accident. Laboratory testing of the green landing gear “down locked” light bulb revealed that the bulb filament had fractured and that no hot filament stretching was present, indicating that the bulb was either burned out before impact or not illuminated at the time of impact. The timing of the filament fracture could not be determined.
Given the burned-out light bulb and the position of the landing gear at the time of the accident, it is likely that the landing gear indication (the popped circuit breaker) was erroneous and that the gear was down and locked while the pilot was attempting to manually lower the landing gear. Given that ADS-B data showed that the airplane was at 1,025 ft msl and 63 knots groundspeed at the time that the pilot indicated that he needed to add power, it is likely that, with his focus on the manual gear extension process and phone calls, the pilot failed to monitor his airspeed. The airplane likely slowed below its stall speed, resulting in an exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, which led to an aerodynamic stall from which the pilot could not recover because of the airplane’s low altitude.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack while troubleshooting a landing gear indication, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at low altitude.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.wbtv.com/2021/11/06/small-plane-crashes-wooded-area-rock-hill-officials-investigating/
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article255592171.html
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=104210
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N8924Y/history/20211105/2036Z/KLGC/55SC
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ac4fbd&lat=34.890&lon=-81.105&zoom=12.1&showTrace=2021-11-05
Location
Images:
Media:
The NTSB is investigating the Nov. 5, 2021, crash of a Piper PA-30 airplane in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) November 6, 2021
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Nov-2021 04:28 | Geno | Added |
| 06-Nov-2021 07:41 | Captain Adam | Updated [Total fatalities, Embed code] |
| 06-Nov-2021 16:51 | johnwg | Updated [Nature, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative, Category] |
| 06-Nov-2021 19:33 | Geno | Updated [Total fatalities, Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Nov-2021 15:47 | Geno | Updated [Source] |
| 18-Nov-2021 20:16 | aaronwk | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 06-Dec-2021 22:53 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation