2023-Mar-05 DA40 fatal accident with a post-crash fire

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haykinson
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2023-Mar-05 DA40 fatal accident with a post-crash fire

Post by haykinson »

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/308928

From the ground track and eyewitness reports it sounds like some sort of an impossible turn type situation. The post crash fire is the third or fourth in recent memory in our airplanes, after basically none before that I'd heard of. Very saddened for the occupants.
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Re: 2023-05-03 DA40 fatal accident with a post-crash fire

Post by Chris »

Terribly tragic. Sounds like it was a student and CFI after a long day transporting the plane from Kentucky. The accounts I heard from listening to the newscasts indicated a likely go-around or a touch-n-go gone awry. RIP.
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Rich
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Re: 2023-05-03 DA40 fatal accident with a post-crash fire

Post by Rich »

Best guess is spatial disorientation/loss of situational awareness in a go-around. It was well after dark.
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dmloftus
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Re: 2023-05-03 DA40 fatal accident with a post-crash fire

Post by dmloftus »

Both pilots?
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Re: 2023-05-03 DA40 fatal accident with a post-crash fire

Post by Rich »

dmloftus wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 6:25 pmBoth pilots?
It doesn't have to be both pilots involved in "classic" spatial disorientation. The plane was super low. ADSB exchange shows the pressure altitude at or below 0 ft. at times. And distraction is part of the equation. You may recall the crash of a Lockheed 1011 where a cockpit full of pilots descended into the everglades.
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Re: 2023-05-03 DA40 fatal accident with a post-crash fire

Post by Rich »

After examining the ground speed profile I'm thinking that full power was not applied or was otherwise not attained for some reason. I can attest from first-hand experience that at the weight they were flying after burning off a couple of hours of fuel, the DA40 normally can easily climb out of this kind of circumstance - even with full flaps. The residential area to the East should have presented no challenge, but it looks like they felt forced to turn over the waterway to avoid it.
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Re: 2023-05-03 DA40 fatal accident with a post-crash fire

Post by ifrpilot »

I am waiting to hear more details. I know they picked up the plane in Kentucky. Were they unfamiliar with DA40s? They did a go-around then a tight 180 is what I read. It's only 14 serial numbers away from my plane.
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Re: 2023-05-03 DA40 fatal accident with a post-crash fire

Post by Rich »

ifrpilot wrote: Wed Mar 08, 2023 8:07 pm I am waiting to hear more details. I know they picked up the plane in Kentucky. Were they unfamiliar with DA40s? They did a go-around then a tight 180 is what I read. It's only 14 serial numbers away from my plane.
From the ADS-B information they gained neither significant altitude nor groundspeed during that turn. The rate of turn is consistent with a rather modest bank given the groundspeed.
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Re: 2023-05-03 DA40 fatal accident with a post-crash fire

Post by thommy152 »

I was in my front yard (in Georgia) Sunday afternoon and saw a DA40 fly overhead. I looked at the plane on Flight Aware just to see where it was headed. Got on the forum the next day to find that the very same aircraft I watched fly overhead crashed that night. Strange feeling.
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Re: 2023-05-03 DA40 fatal accident with a post-crash fire

Post by Soareyes »

Curious why they had to do a go-around. Will Flightradar24 or any other ADS-B website show what other traffic was around that night? Early in my DA40 days I was on short final one night when a plane on the other end of the runway suddenly turned on their landing lights. Startled, I did an immediate low, slow, climbing turn and was horrified to look down and see how slow the airspeed.

Maybe they had the mixture way back. Fatigued and in the dark the pilot forgot to advance it for a go-around? No climb, no speed.

The pictures don’t looked like it burned. Any confirmation of that?
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