Pleasant Valley Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Peoria, Arizona 85345
Sunday, June 13, 2004 15:04 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The tow plane stalled and impacted terrain following a nose high pitch excursion during a tow operation. The glider pilot, who was being towed at the time, reported experiencing a normal takeoff until about 100-150 feet above the ground. The tow plane then began to out climb the glider and slack developed in the tow line. The glider pilot released from the tow when she realized that while trying to chase the tow plane, the glider was nearing a stall speed. Witnesses to the accident observed the tow plane pitch nose high twice before it stalled and spun to the right. One of the witnesses was another pilot who flew the accident airplane on 12 previous flights that day. He reported observing no problems with the airplane during his flights that would have prevented its normal operation. Additional witnesses reported hearing a normal engine noise throughout the event. Post accident examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies that would have affected its flying abilities. Toxicological tests of samples from the pilot revealed the presence of phentermine, ephedrine, and pseudoephedrine. Phentermine is a prescription stimulant drug; ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are components of over the counter compounds and have stimulant properties.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain a proper pitch attitude during tow operations and his failure to maintain an adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/13/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1504
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Peoria
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85345
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 334802N
Event Location Longitude 1121502W
Event Location Airport Pleasant Valley
Event Location Nearest Airport ID P48
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1580
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 120
Weather Observation Facility ID DVT
Elevation of weather observation facility 1478
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 9
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 38
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 17
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.86
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 18294
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 13 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1624
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 13 2005 12:54PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Scottsdale, AZ

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4602Y
NTSB Number LAX04LA240
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-25-235
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 25-4294
Certified Max Gross Weight 2900
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection May 1 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 13058.4
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Baboquivari Soaring School Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 8700 West Carefree Highway
Aircraft Owner City Peoria
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85383
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Turf Soaring School
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Glider Tow
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code P48
Departure City Peoria
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 11 2005 5:21PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 23
Runway Length 4000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --