History of Flight
On April 7, 2017, about 1507 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180 airplane, registration N9179J, collided with terrain in Oxford, Iowa, following a loss of control. The flight instructor and the private pilot receiving instruction were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was operated by the instructor under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a training flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed near the accident site, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The airplane departed Green Castle Airport (IA24), Oxford, Iowa, about 1449.
No communications occurred with air traffic control. Surveillance radar data from the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID) showed the airplane depart IA24 northward, then turn south. It continued south for about 8.4 miles, then turned west along IWV Road SW, making S-turns. Subsequently, it turned south and climbed to 3,500 ft mean sea level (msl) over 4 miles, then turned east for 5.5 miles, then north with a descent to 3,200 ft msl. It continued north about 6 miles to Interstate 80, made a left 180° turn south at 3,400 ft msl, then flew south about 2.7 miles before entering a left turn and rapid descent. Between 1507:08 and 1507:12, the airplane descended from 3,400 ft msl to 1,500 ft msl.
A witness about 1 mile east of the accident site reported hearing engine popping and backfiring as the airplane headed south-southeast. The nose then dropped, and the airplane entered a downward spiral. The witness observed eight or nine clockwise spirals before the rotation stopped and the airplane continued in a nose-down descent. The witness lost sight of the airplane behind a hillside and shortly thereafter heard the impact.
Personnel Information
The flight instructor held a flight instructor certificate with airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane ratings, initially issued February 19, 2003, and most recently renewed November 30, 2015. He also held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land and instrument ratings. His FAA third-class medical certificate was dated August 13, 2015. The last entry in his logbook, dated April 7, 2017, recorded 6,475.4 total flight hours. That entry noted a 0.6-hour flight in a Cessna 150 with the name of the pilot receiving instruction, with remark "T&G Ldg, BFR & Eval." The instructor had given the pilot receiving instruction a biennial flight review (BFR) endorsement earlier that day.
The pilot receiving instruction held a private pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land rating, issued October 7, 1986. His FAA third-class medical certificate was dated February 5, 2016. On that application, he reported 97 total flight hours, with none in the previous 6 months. According to family, he was resuming flying after a long hiatus.
Aircraft Information
The airplane, manufactured in 1966, was a four-place, single-engine, low-wing airplane with fixed tricycle landing gear, certificated for normal and utility category operations. It was owned by Green Castle Aero Club LTD since July 15, 2000. Maintenance logbooks were in the airplane but not located after the accident due to a postimpact fire. The last annual inspection was performed February 6, 2017, at 7,652.1 hours airframe total time. An aircraft summary sheet dated March 1, 2017, indicated a tachometer time of 7,657 hours. The pilot who flew before the accident reported filling the airplane nearly full of fuel before a 1.8-hour flight.
The actual gross weight at the time of the accident could not be determined due to destroyed weight and balance records. Using the licensed empty weight from manufacture, estimated fuel based on last fueling, and passenger weights, the estimated takeoff gross weight was about 1,915 lbs with a center of gravity of 85.98 inches. The maximum gross weight for utility category operations is 1,950 lbs with center of gravity limits between 85.8 and 86.5 inches. The PA-28-180 Airplane Flight Manual notes that intentional spins are prohibited for normal category operations. It describes stall characteristics as normal with nose-down pitch, and that prolonged full rudder during stall practice may cause a rapid roll and spin. Recovery from an incipient spin can be accomplished in less than one additional turn, while recovery from a fully developed spin requires full opposite rudder, full forward wheel, and full opposite aileron, possibly requiring several turns and significant altitude loss if heavily loaded with rearward center of gravity.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane came to rest upright in a plowed corn field, sustaining impact damage and partial consumption by postimpact fire. The wreckage was confined to one area, with the farthest piece (top engine cowling) about 36 ft away. A burned area extended up to 50 ft. The airplane rested in a near-60° nose-down attitude, with the engine front partially buried. One propeller blade tip was visible.
Examination of the airframe and engine occurred on April 8 and 9, 2017, at the scene and at Iowa City Municipal Airport. Most of the fuselage and cockpit were consumed by fire. Both wings were crushed aft and partially burned. The empennage separated from the fuselage; the vertical stabilizer and rudder remained attached to the stabilator, with thermal damage on the right side. Control continuity was established from flight controls to the cockpit.
The engine sustained impact and thermal damage; all accessories, including both magnetos, were destroyed. Rotation by hand via the vacuum pump drive provided suction and compression at all cylinders with rear accessory gears turning. Valve train and crankshaft continuity were established. No preimpact failure or malfunction was found.
Medical and Pathological Information
Autopsies performed by UI Diagnostic Laboratories attributed deaths of both the flight instructor and the pilot receiving instruction to multiple blunt force injuries. Toxicology testing by the FAA Bioaeronautical Research Sciences Laboratory was negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, and ethanol in both pilots. The flight instructor's liver and cavity blood contained atorvastatin, ranitidine, and triamterene—medications he reported on his last FAA medical exam and which are not generally considered impairing. The pilot receiving instruction tested negative for all drugs in the testing profile.