ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 165695
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| Date: | Monday 21 April 2014 |
| Time: | 14:00 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche |
| Owner/operator: | Anthony Degennaro |
| Registration: | N7880Y |
| MSN: | 30-965 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1965 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 5235 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-320-B1A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Near Sun Valley Airport, Fort Mohave, Bullhead City, Arizona -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Lake Havasu, AZ (HII) |
| Bullhead City, AZ (A20) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot reported that, upon arrival at the airport, he overflew the runway, checked the wind direction, and then entered the downwind leg for a landing to the north. While turning onto final approach, the airplane encountered severe turbulence, at which time the pilot initiated a go-around by adding full power to both engines. However, he noted that “it seemed like the airplane would not fly“ and that it was “like it was being pushed down.” He added that he was not sure if the engines completely failed or not but that “I just know I didn’t have any power.” The airplane subsequently impacted terrain about 1/4 mile from the departure end of the runway and then came to rest upright. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and empennage. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Fuel was drained from both the left and right fuel tanks, and no water or sediment was observed.
The left propeller blades were found in the feathered position, and the right propeller blades were found in low pitch. The feathered propellers indicated that, despite the pilot’s statement that the engine did not have power, the engine likely did have power but no thrust. Followup discussions with the pilot revealed that he had been improperly using the propeller controls as the throttles, with the throttle controls in the full-forward position, during the flight. Additionally, the pilot had pulled both propeller controls to the full-feather position upon touching down on the runway and then abruptly advanced them when he initiated a go-around rather than using the throttle as required. The pilot reported that he had an extensive amount of flight time in another airplane make and model that was configured with the propeller and throttle controls oriented in a position directly opposite their position in the accident airplane. The pilot’s mismanagement of the throttle and propeller controls during the attempted go-around after encountering turbulence resulted in insufficient airspeed and degraded climb performance and a subsequent forced landing and impact with terrain.
Probable Cause: The pilot's mismanagement of the throttle and propeller controls during the attempted go-around after encountering turbulence, which resulted in his failure to maintain adequate airspeed and climb rate and a subsequent forced landing and impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of knowledge about the airplane’s equipment.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: 2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=7880Y
5. https://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N7880Y
Location
Media:
Crews investigating small plane crash in Mohave County http://t.co/ff5g4P30Rq pic.twitter.com/5KXQECOA5z
— KTNV Action News (@KTNV) April 22, 2014Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Apr-2014 19:23 | gerard57 | Added |
| 22-Apr-2014 19:25 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport] |
| 22-Apr-2014 20:06 | harro | Updated [Embed code] |
| 22-Apr-2014 22:50 | Geno | Updated [Time, Location, Destination airport, Source, Embed code] |
| 29-Apr-2014 05:00 | Geno | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Feb-2016 22:04 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 17-Apr-2017 21:08 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Damage, Narrative] |
| 17-Apr-2017 21:22 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 29-Nov-2017 14:01 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative] |
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