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PA-28 crash in Florida

Embry Riddle has lost a student and an FAA examiner in a PA-28 crash.

Two dead after Embry Riddle plane crashes near Daytona Beach - Orlando Sentinel

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/n...ash/488115002/

The reference to the wing coming off is worrying. This happened decades ago to a PA-28, and resulted in a very burdensome FAA AD. The AD was later withdrawn, as it seems that more damage was being done to aircraft doing the inspection, than what was not being found. (I did the dirty hands work for one of these inspections). I will watch with interest if this concern is raised again.

The fact that an FAA examiner was aboard may draw attention away from pilot mishandling of the aircraft as a primary cause.

Yeh I heard it was a well liked examiner, so it will be interesting to see...

Alex.

Aircraft was N106ER, a 2007 Piper PA-28R-201 Arrow III. Wing found 150 yards east of the fuselage. Many witness say they saw the wing separate from the airplane before the crash. Impact site is about 2 miles off the end of runway 25L, turning crosswind after a touch and go.

2007 is a much newer Pa28 than any I've ever flown.

Here's the initial NTSB onsite briefing:

Tower recording, Riddle 106 is given a crosswind turn at about 23:30 into this liveatc.net clip:

http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kd...2018-1330Z.mp3

N47TN reports sighting the wreckage at 28:20 into the tower clip.

Some insight to the victims of this tragic mishap in a newspaper article:

Quote:

Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler confirmed the identities of the two people who lost their lives in the crash in an email sent across the campus about 3 p.m. Thursday, saying he was “deeply saddened” to share the news of the “tragic aircraft accident.”

Butler wrote that Capra had planned to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics. He was a member of Embry-Riddle’s Student Veterans Organization, having transferred to the university following his service in the Navy from 2012 to 2016. Capra had been an aviation boatswain’s mate on the USS Harry S. Truman.

Capra graduated from Mountain Range High School in Westminster, Colo., and he attended Adam State University in 2011. Butler said Capra was an aspiring pilot who was described by a friend as “someone who smiled often and never hesitated to provide encouragement to others.”

Butler said in his written statement that Azma “was well known and respected by many in the Embry-Riddle community. He was a highly decorated FAA-designated pilot examiner as well as a pilot proficiency examiner and a flight instructor. John had at least 20 years of flight experience and nearly a dozen unique jet aircraft-type ratings. His proficiencies encompassed many aircraft, from single-engine piston aircraft to multi-engine turbine powered jets. He was known for his calm professionalism in the cockpit.”

Butler said the NTSB is conducting an in-depth investigation, and the school is working closely with authorities “to support their efforts in any way we can.”

“We will provide additional information on an ongoing basis, as soon as we possibly can,” Butler said. “We have all been shocked and devastated by this tragedy.”

He said campus members in need of support are encouraged to contact the Counseling Center or the chaplain’s office.

John Capra said there will be a memorial service on campus at noon Monday. He’ll be there along with his, wife, Patsy. She was Zach Capra’s stepmother, and had been in his life since he was 8 years old. His birthmother is Janet Swink of Colorado. He had one brother and three sisters.

John and Patsy Capra will fly to Daytona Beach on Friday to bring home their son’s remains. They had already purchased other plane tickets to come for the graduation ceremony next month, and they were trying to decide on a gift. John Capra said it doesn’t fully seem real.

“Being so far away, there’s not the finality of it yet,” he said.

The 54-year-old father said his nightmare began Wednesday morning when he was at work and happened to look at ERAU’s website. He saw a post about the crash, so he texted his son. He waited for a reply, and he waited some more.

When he heard nothing back, he contacted the school. About 30 minutes later, a chaplain called back. It’s been a surreal blur since.

He’s thinking back to the quiet little boy who always had a smile and a hunger for adventure. The talented athlete who loved hockey and lacrosse. The teenager who spent his life in Denver, enlisted in the Navy, and trained in Chicago and Pensacola.

John Capra said his son “cared about other people more than himself.”
“He inspired and he pushed people to do what he did, achieve his dreams,” he said.

Words of encouragement written by Zach Capra are posted on John Capra’s Facebook page: “Follow your hopes and dreams. Don’t let anyone keep you from doing what you have been determined to accomplish. There might be difficult times when you could think about giving up, but just keep pushing and reach your set goals.”

ERAU student died on flight to earn commercial license - News - Daytona Beach News-Journal Online - Daytona Beach, FL

I appreciate all accidents are tragic affairs, always a story in the background, leaving generally bereft and bewildered friends and relatives. But when you go up to bash the circuit, and the wing departs, then you have to ask, WTF? This was a relatively new airframe, 8000 hours apparently TT, but looks like a fatigue/stress crack. Cause unknown. Very worrying, and every pilots worst nightmare. Poor guys...

Riddle Graduate here, that 1999 crash they mentioned was my dorm mate.

That was the incident where he left a note, told the tower it was going to be his "final landing", nosed up, stalled it, and impacted the runway.

That shocked the campus. I also passed my checkride in this model aircraft and I know this examiner.

It's shocking to say the least. 1 million flight hours at Riddle without an incident. :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by EternalNY1 (Post 10109422)

Actually, that crash was in 1998. The one in 1999 was a midair at DED (Deland, FL).

From a newspaper account about the 1998 crash:

Quote:

ERAU INSTRUCTOR LEFT SUICIDE NOTE

Wednesday, September 9th, 1998

Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL)
Author: Brendan Smith, Staff Writer

“The crash spread burning wreckage across the main runway only minutes after the last Delta flight arrived, said air traffic manager Burt Willis. No flights were delayed Monday because another runway was available.”After drinking with friends and writing a six-page suicide note, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University flight instructor Michael Nawrocki crashed a stolen plane Sunday night at Daytona Beach International Airport, authorities said.

When an air traffic controller told Nawrocki he was flying high on his approach, Nawrocki radioed back: “This will be my final landing.”

Nawrocki’s death in the fiery crash of a twin-engine Piper Seminole at 11:22 p.m. Sunday was ruled a suicide Tuesday after an investigation by airport police, a sheriff’s investigator and the Medical Examiner’s Office.

https://ssristories.org/man-delibera...-suicide-note/

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airbubba (Post 10109516)

Actually, that crash was in 1998. The one in 1999 was a midair at DED (Deland, FL).

From a newspaper account about the 1998 crash:

https://ssristories.org/man-delibera...-suicide-note/

Correct, off by one year ... I was there 96-99.

You can see the tail of accident aircraft(06) on ramp.

Quote:

There are at least two Special Airworthiness Information Bulletins (SAIB), CE-11-13 and CE-11-12R1, saying the aircraft has the potential for corrosion on the wing front spar at the fuselage attach fitting. One warns of the potential for corrosion on the wing rear spar at the fuselage attach fitting. The SAIBs mention the increased risk associated with high moisture and salt water.

https://www.avweb.com/eletter/archiv...t=email#230590

If you look here (on the main y'tube site) you will see a number of videos dealing with different SAIB's addressing corrosion on the -28.

megan,

Thanks for posting that. I had no idea that the rear-spar attach fitting on a PA-28 is steel. What were they thinking?

I also looked at a lot of other videos from the same source, including ones for 100 series Cessnas. When the snow finally melts here, I shall be looking much more closely at the 182 I fly! :eek:

The preliminary report is out, metal fatigue appears to be the culprit - and this with a total of around 8000 hours....

Here is the link to the preliminary report.... wonder if other P28x types with high hours should be considering checking the spar.....

That's frightening......A 10 year old airframe, I've flown 40 year old examples.

Fatigue cracks also found in the intact right wing spar in the same place. I'm thinking this can be attributed to a previous event...an over stress or the like.

The final report will make for very interesting reading.

This is reminiscent of the old Piper Service Letter on this topic, and brief FAA AD:

https://bsd-box.net/~mikeg/N8031W/SB_SL/SB_0886.pdf

I did one wing removal and inspection back in the period of applicability of the AD. It was a laborious task. I suspect that we may see a reissue of this service letter.

The bigger problem for Piper owners, should this service letter be made applicable again, will be what happens to your legacy Piper should a defect be found. With some experience with the issue, I'd be concerned about the availability of replacement parts (let alone the cost to install a new spar into an older Cherokee wing).

I've been bequeathed a PA-28 Warrior by a still-living friend who has lost his licence but wants to keep his aeroplane flying.

My inclination, in the light of this crash would be to have the thing torn down to enable the wing roots to be ultrasonic/X-ray examined before any further flight.

If it fails such an inspection, I suspect that its sale value will be close to nil over the parts value as a 'Christmas tree'.

He's a good mate, but I'd like to tell him to shove his Warrior where the sun doesn't shine, and I might have done so before I heard that he's been diagnosed with colo-rectal cancer.

Quote:

wing roots to be ultrasonic/X-ray examined before any further flight.

The challenge may be that there might not be an approved procedure for such an inspection. 'Doesn't mean it would not be a good idea, but an inspector qualified to use these methods probably want's a procedure to refer to. The Piper SB I referenced states 10 power magnifier, and dye penetrant. That can be called upon as an approved method (and it pretty common). The challenge will be that by the time you get the plane that far apart, there will be a large labour bill already, and risk of damage resulting from bolt and wing removal (I struggled with this, when I did the inspection). And, if you find a defect, now what?

Before I undertook this inspection, I'd be calling Piper to ask about replacement parts, should they found to be needed. Based upon my experience with the repair of a Piper Seneca I many years back, I'd be holding my breath....

Sounds like the lower ailmentary canal route is the way to go with that thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilot DAR (Post 10122091)

That AD makes for very interesting reading. Essentially suggesting this kind of fatigue would normally only be found on aircraft with more than 5000 hrs on the airframe, significant damage history and operating in 'severe' environments.