ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228871
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| Date: | Tuesday 10 September 2019 |
| Time: | 07:30 LT |
| Type: |  Ercoupe 415-C |
| Owner/operator: | Desert Aero Club LLC |
| Registration: | N3816H |
| MSN: | 4517 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1947 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3879 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental C85F |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Ak-Chin Regional Airport (A39), Maricopa, AZ -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Maricopa, AZ |
| Maricopa, AZ | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During the takeoff roll for the instructional flight, the student pilot allowed the airplane to veer left of centerline multiple times, but the flight instructor corrected the airplane's track back to runway centerline with steering control inputs. As the airplane lifted off the ground, the student pilot abruptly pitched the airplane's nose up, and the airplane began to bank to the left. The flight instructor stated twice that he had the flight controls; however, the student pilot's continued inputs prevented the flight instructor from gaining control of the airplane.
Afterward, the airplane stalled; the student pilot relinquished airplane control to the flight instructor; and the airplane entered a spin and collided with the roof of a two-story airport building, which caused substantial damage to the airplane and serious injuries to the airplane occupants.
A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no preexisting malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
It is likely that full operation of the elevator was not possible while the flight instructor was trying to manipulate the controls and the student pilot was not relinquishing the controls, which led to the roll to the left and the subsequent exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack. Even though the student pilot was at the controls before and at the time of the stall, the flight instructor had the ultimate responsibility for the safety of the flight, especially given that the accident flight was only the student's second time receiving instruction in the accident airplane.
Probable Cause: The flight instructor's failure to prevent the student pilot from exceeding the airplane's critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent spin. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot's failure to make a positive transfer of airplane control when the flight instructor directed him to do so.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB WPR19LA253
FAA register: https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=3816H
Location
Media:
#LIVE COVERAGE: Plane crashes into flight operations building at Ak-Chin Regional Airport near Maricopa, Arizona. https://t.co/EOCTfZt4nW pic.twitter.com/HSA2TxdQ8r
— Rudy Rivas (@RudyRivasAZ) September 10, 2019
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Sep-2019 18:02 | Geno | Added |
| 10-Sep-2019 19:20 | luxskater | Updated [Registration, Cn, Source] |
| 10-Sep-2019 19:59 | harro | Updated [Operator, Total occupants, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 10-Sep-2019 20:46 | Geno | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 10-Sep-2019 21:54 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Operator, Phase, Nature, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 11-Sep-2019 21:22 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 11-Sep-2019 21:23 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 11-Sep-2019 22:21 | Captain Adam | Updated [Narrative] |
| 12-Sep-2019 10:26 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 12-Sep-2019 10:34 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 01-Jul-2022 17:27 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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