ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 100 N157KM Clayton County Airport-Tara Field, GA
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Tuesday 8 March 2011
Time:11:40
Type:Silhouette image of generic DHC6 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 100
Operator:Desert Sand Aircraft Leasing
Registration: N157KM
MSN: 57
First flight: 1967
Total airframe hrs:16541
Cycles:20927
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27
Crew:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:1,3 km (0.8 mls) SW of Clayton County Airport-Tara Field, GA (   United States of America)
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature:Test
Departure airport:Clayton County Airport-Tara Field, GA, United States of America
Destination airport:Clayton County Airport-Tara Field, GA, United States of America
Narrative:
A DHC-6 Twin Otter skydiving plane was destroyed when it crashed during a local post-maintenance test flight from Clayton County Airport-Tara Field, GA.
The airplane came down in trees and broke up, killing both occupants.
The accident flight was the first flight after both of the airplane's Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-20, 550-horsepower engines, were replaced with PT6A-27, 680-horsepower engines. The airplane took off with a pilot and a pilot-rated mechanic on board. Two uneventful touch-and-go landings were completed.
The airplane was then observed flying in the traffic pattern for runway 6. An eyewitness reported that the airplane was "struggling to gain altitude and airspeed." As the airplane turned to line-up with the runway, it "stalled" and descended nose first toward the ground.
The airplane impacted trees in a wooded marsh area, short of the threshold, near the extended centerline of runway 6. The airplane came to rest about 80-degrees vertically and canted about 25-degrees on the right wing.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The pilot did not maintain airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall."

Accident investigation:

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Investigating agency: NTSB
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 4 months
Accident number: ERA11FA183
Download report: Summary report

Classification:
Loss of control

Sources:
» NTSB


Photos

photo of DHC-6-Twin-Otter-100-N157KM
accident date: 08-03-2011
type: de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 100
registration: N157KM
photo of DHC-6-Twin-Otter-100-N157KM
accident date: 08-03-2011
type: de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 100
registration: N157KM
photo of DHC-6-Twin-Otter-100-N157KM
accident date: 08-03-2011
type: de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 100
registration: N157KM
photo of DHC-6-Twin-Otter-100-N157KM
accident date: 08-03-2011
type: de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 100
registration: N157KM
photo of DHC-6-Twin-Otter-100-N157KM
accident date: 08-03-2011
type: de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 100
registration: N157KM
 

Map

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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