Piper PA24 Comanche
Valparaiso, Indiana/Injuries: 1 Fatal
The pilot was departing on a personal flight. Witness observations and surveillance video captured the airplane during the initial climb; the right wing dropped and then the airplane entered a right spin. A surveillance video from a camera mounted on a building near the accident captured the final portion of the accident sequence; the airplane completed one revolution in the spin before it impacted the ground in a near vertical attitude. Examination of the airplane, engine, and systems revealed no evidence of any preimpact anomalies. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall and spin.
Probable cause(s): The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall and spin.
Note: The report republished here is from the NTSB and is printed verbatim and in its complete form.
