On April 9, 2018, about 2048 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-24-260 airplane, N9456P, was destroyed when it impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from Scottsdale Airport (SDL), Scottsdale, Arizona. The airline transport pilot, the student pilot, and four passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to N9456P LLC and was operated by the pilots as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Nighttime visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the cross-country flight, which was destined for North Las Vegas Airport (VGT), Las Vegas, Nevada.
Earlier that evening, the airline transport pilot flew the airplane from VGT to SDL to pick up the student pilot and the passengers and fly them to VGT. The inbound flight, which was the airline transport pilot's first flight in the airplane, departed from VGT at 1842 mst and landed at SDL at 2018.
A video surveillance camera at SDL located on the ramp where the airplane was parked captured the occupants as they began to board the airplane about 2028. The surveillance video, along with photographs and videos posted to social media by one of the occupants, revealed that the student pilot occupied the front left seat and that the airline transport pilot occupied the front right seat.
A video surveillance camera located midfield on the west side of the runway captured the airplane's departure from runway 03. The video showed that the airplane's wings were rocking during and shortly after rotation.
The tower controller reported that, as the airplane began the departure roll, the lights on the wings were alternating up and down as if the pilot was rocking the wings. The controller also reported that, as the airplane passed the tower, the wings appeared to be stable but that the engine sounded as if it was not producing enough power. At that time, the controller asked the pilot if the airplane was experiencing any difficulty. According to the controller, the pilot responded, "we're good. We're just in training mode." The controller observed the airplane continue straight out but noted that it did not appear to be climbing. Over the departure end of the runway, the airplane made a left turn. A review of radar data revealed that the airplane's last depicted altitude, between 2046:18 and 2046:28, was about 200 ft above ground level, which occurred during the left turn. As the airplane continued in the left turn, the controller observed the airplane enter a nose-down attitude.
A traffic camera located about 0.5-mile northwest of the end of the departure runway recorded the airplane in a left bank. The bank angle continued to increase as the airplane descended, and its wings were nearly vertical. The camera then depicted the airplane's impact with terrain and a fireball.
Video captured by the traffic camera and the airport tower camera were used to estimate the trajectory and speed of the airplane. The airplane's ground speed was estimated at 75 ± 4 knots shortly after takeoff, and its climb rate was 270 ft per minute (fpm). Twelve seconds later, as the airplane entered the left turn near the end of the runway, its ground speed decayed to 50 ± 4 knots. The airplane began to descend and impacted the ground several seconds later. The airplane was airborne for about 70 seconds.
Condolences to the families and friend of the victims:
Anand Patel, 28; James Pedroza, 28; Erik Valente, 26; Iris Rodriguez, 23; Mariah Sunshine Coogan, 23. and Helena Lagos, 22;
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Dan Gryder Probable Cause General Aviation Accident Analysis. Inspired by JCS Criminal Psychology Videos.
