Piper PA30 - NO SERIES N7880Y accident near Bullhead City, Arizona

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.

NTSB analysis

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.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR14LA169 for the full record.