PA-28 Down in Kansas City/Lee's Summit

METAR KLXT 202353Z AUTO 18007KT 10SM CLR 31/23 A3004 RMK
AO2 SLP162 T03060228 10333 20306 55001=
 
I'm no investigator but the METAR seems really good conditions and the damage to the plane, while may not buff right out, seems certainly survivable. I always hate to hear of the loss of any life so prayers to the families of all involved
 
Yesterday was about as good of a flying day around here as they come. Sad.
 
That's clearly on the ramp somewhere. Sorry to hear this.
 
mulligan said:
I'm no investigator but the METAR seems really good conditions and the damage to the plane, while may not buff right out, seems certainly survivable. I always hate to hear of the loss of any life so prayers to the families of all involved
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One of the reports indicated that there was an impact mark to the side of the runway. Given the loss of the wing and an impact mark away from where the plane came to rest on the ramp could the plane have cartwheeled?

Do early model 235's have shoulder harnesses?
Does a 235 have a pretty good wing drop when it stalls?
 
Left traffic downwind for 18? I pulled up Google Earth and while it would be a pretty tight pattern, thats all i can figure.
 
sad.

Lees Summit is my airport of choice when flying into KC. Nice airport, very active GA community.
 
EppyGA said:
Where the "F" is the right wing? Damn.
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From the overhead newschopper video, it looks like the wing is at the south end of the ramp. I don't know if the plane was heading south and the wing broke off and slid, or if the plane was heading north and the wing broke off and the airplane slid.
 
At least there wasn't a fire.....wait a minute...
 
timwinters said:
sad.

Lees Summit is my airport of choice when flying into KC. Nice airport, very active GA community.
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And home port for Greg & Sharon Bockelman with 34V.
 
timwinters said:
sad.

Lees Summit is my airport of choice when flying into KC. Nice airport, very active GA community.
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Yep, a little surprised it's not a Class Delta. That CTAF can get a little crazy and it's fairly close to Bravo airspace. Lot of GA operations there.
 
labbadabba said:
One of the reports indicated that there was an impact mark to the side of the runway. Given the loss of the wing and an impact mark away from where the plane came to rest on the ramp could the plane have cartwheeled?
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It doesn't look like it to me. The rear left-side of the elevator is barely touched, while the right is smashed. Not to mention that the whole fuselage looks as though it is bent in the middle on the right as well. Would make a little more sense if the active was 29 and they were taking off and stalled or loss the engine. But nothing really supports that.

Makes me ill seeing this and want to do even more safety training. Never too much
 
bmoeller said:
It doesn't look like it to me. The rear left-side of the elevator is barely touched, while the right is smashed. Not to mention that the whole fuselage looks as though it is bent in the middle on the right as well. Would make a little more sense if the active was 29 and they were taking off and stalled or loss the engine. But nothing really supports that.

Makes me ill seeing this and want to do even more safety training. Never too much
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Engine failure on takeoff from 29 with a right hand turn to come back or land on the ramp was my best guess based upon the airport layout and where they ended up. No solid evidence though.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Engine failure on takeoff from 29 with a right hand turn to come back or land on the ramp was my best guess based upon the airport layout and where they ended up. No solid evidence though.
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The Lee's Summit airport was their intended destination.
 
wow....that cabin is intact but it must have hit pretty hard to lose the wing.
 
FloridaPilot said:
This is something I was wondering as well. Would fuel leak in this situation?
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If there was fuel aboard there is a chance it would leak. The fuel tanks are part of the wing structure on the PA-28. It may be possible to rip a wing off without holing the tank. I dunno.
 
While you may be lucky and not rupture the tank should you rip the wing off, you absolutely will sever the fuel line which would then leak fuel.
 
SkyDog58 said:
While you may be lucky and not rupture the tank should you rip the wing off, you absolutely will sever the fuel line which would then leak fuel.
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One of the early pictures of the accident had what appeared to be fluid on the ground beneath the engine. This accident is very strange.
 
labbadabba said:
One of the early pictures of the accident had what appeared to be fluid on the ground beneath the engine. This accident is very strange.
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I saw that same photo, it looks more like oil then 100LL.
 
midcap said:
It sounds like he tried a left turn then cranked it over to a 90 Deg right turn?
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Isn't that characteristic of a low speed turning stall? The up wing had a higher AoA and is more prone to stall thus causing the snap in the opposite direction?

My aerodynamic engineering is really rusty, so take that with a grain of salt.

TJ


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
KathrynReport.jpg


That bend right by the firewall took some force, that 200-300' drop like NTSB said, I'd wager more then enough for a aortic tear / internal decapitation?


Rip


NTSB Identification: CEN16FA378
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, September 20, 2016 in Lee's Summit, MO
Aircraft: PIPER PA 28-235, registration: N8983W
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On September 20, 2016, about 1820 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28-235 airplane, N8983W, impacted terrain near Lee's Summit, Missouri. The private rated pilot and passenger were fatally injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by TEKO Air LLC, Des Moines, Iowa, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal fight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed. The cross country flight originated from the Ankeny Regional Airport (KIKV), Des Moines, Iowa, and was en route to the Lee's Summit Municipal airport, (KLXT), Lee's Summit, Missouri.

Several witnesses reported seeing segments of the airplane's accident flight. Additionally, several of the airport's security cameras captured a portion of the flight. A review of the security camera video's and witness statements, revealed the airplane touched down on KLXT's runway 18, the airplane then continued on the runway for a little way, before departing. The airplane was then seen with nose high, left wing low attitude. The airplane continued and entered into a right steep turn; one witness reported that the airplane was high as 200 to 300 ft above ground level. The airplane continued to make a 180-degree turn, with a wing bank angle of about 90 degrees. The airplane made a rapid decent, impacting terrain in a right wing, nose low attitude. The airplane then slid along the ramp for about 250 ft, coming to rest on its right side.

After the initial on-site documentation of the wreckage, the airplane was recovered for further examination.
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Wonder what his experience level was?
 
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Sounds like a stall. Brutal. I learned to fly at LXT. Still one of my favorite airports.
 
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