NTSB final report on the crash that killed TNflygirl

[Dry Guy]

https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/ ... 193491/pdf

I don't really understand how she passed her check ride.

[digits_]

On October 20, 2021, the pilot passed her Private Pilot Airplane Airmen Knowledge Test. On
May 14, 2022, she passed her private pilot (single-engine land) practical test, at which time she
had accumulated 193.2 hours total flight time. Of those hours, 182.6 were dual instruction
received; nearly all of the hours were accomplished in a Piper PA-28-140 that she had
purchased on June 15, 2021.

186 hours dual, 11 hours solo at the time of the checkride

There are scenarios where this wouldn't be a red flag, but in combination with the other data in the report, it doesn't paint a good picture. Must have been horrible for the passenger.

[cdnavater]

On October 20, 2021, the pilot passed her Private Pilot Airplane Airmen Knowledge Test. On
May 14, 2022, she passed her private pilot (single-engine land) practical test, at which time she
had accumulated 193.2 hours total flight time. Of those hours, 182.6 were dual instruction
received; nearly all of the hours were accomplished in a Piper PA-28-140 that she had
purchased on June 15, 2021.

186 hours dual, 11 hours solo at the time of the checkride

There are scenarios where this wouldn't be a red flag, but in combination with the other data in the report, it doesn't paint a good picture. Must have been horrible for the passenger.

Can you give us a scenario where that does not raise a red flag? I’m certainly not seeing it, I would think even someone who flies 1 hour per week over the course of 4 years would have more solo time than 11 hours. It’s 40 hours minimum for a private licence.

[7ECA]

Clearly a case of too much aeroplane, for a low skilled and barely competent pilot.

But, the drug cocktail in her system was wild and clearly impairing. This is why regulators the world over are trying to crack down on non-reporting and are so difficult to deal with when it comes to medication use. People like this who claim to be using an OTC seasonal allergy medication only - but end up being on a cocktail of prescription narcotics including anti-depressants, chemotherapy-grade anti-nausea drugs, and others... that's a huge red flag.

As for the comments from instructors and the FTU that she was barely competent, how the hell did she pass her ride(s)?

[digits_]

On October 20, 2021, the pilot passed her Private Pilot Airplane Airmen Knowledge Test. On
May 14, 2022, she passed her private pilot (single-engine land) practical test, at which time she
had accumulated 193.2 hours total flight time. Of those hours, 182.6 were dual instruction
received; nearly all of the hours were accomplished in a Piper PA-28-140 that she had
purchased on June 15, 2021.

186 hours dual, 11 hours solo at the time of the checkride

There are scenarios where this wouldn't be a red flag, but in combination with the other data in the report, it doesn't paint a good picture. Must have been horrible for the passenger.

Can you give us a scenario where that does not raise a red flag? I’m certainly not seeing it, I would think even someone who flies 1 hour per week over the course of 4 years would have more solo time than 11 hours. It’s 40 hours minimum for a private licence.

Private guy who's in no rush and likes to fly his airplane but either doesn't trust his abilities, or doesn't want to bother with tests and licenses etc and decides to just fly with an instructor. Then a few years later he's got more time, is in a better headspace and decides to go for his license 'for real'.

Or a kid too young to get his license getting funded by his parents to fly as soon as he can reach the pedals.

Or someone who likes to fly but can't get a medical. Gets it X years later and finishes his license and solo requirements.

Rare, but not necessarily a red flag in itself.

[pelmet]

As for the comments from instructors and the FTU that she was barely competent, how the hell did she pass her ride(s)?

I did a checkride at an airline where the captain had a stickshaker event and some worriesome navigation after an engine failure with high mountains around and trouble taxiing after landing with one engine shut down on a slippery taxiway(the examiner asked me to try and with proper thrust management got us from the taxiway edge to the terminal). Captain was a senior guy.

Another guy was a new F/O who did terrible the whole way and actually crashed three times on the pre-checkride(once with no malfunctions). Admittedly, it was a challenging sim but he was recommended for the checkride and barely passed that.

You would be amazed at what some people get away with.

[digits_]

But, the drug cocktail in her system was wild and clearly impairing. This is why regulators the world over are trying to crack down on non-reporting and are so difficult to deal with when it comes to medication use. People like this who claim to be using an OTC seasonal allergy medication only - but end up being on a cocktail of prescription narcotics including anti-depressants, chemotherapy-grade anti-nausea drugs, and others... that's a huge red flag.

True, and they are just going to achieve the opposite effect. Especially in the way TC is handling it right now. It's one thing to investigate and get a verdict in 2 weeks, versus going in circles for 12+ months while TC figures out if you actually do have a problem

[pelmet]

186 hours dual, 11 hours solo at the time of the checkride

There are scenarios where this wouldn't be a red flag, but in combination with the other data in the report, it doesn't paint a good picture. Must have been horrible for the passenger.

Can you give us a scenario where that does not raise a red flag? I’m certainly not seeing it, I would think even someone who flies 1 hour per week over the course of 4 years would have more solo time than 11 hours. It’s 40 hours minimum for a private licence.

Private guy who's in no rush and likes to fly his airplane but either doesn't trust his abilities, or doesn't want to bother with tests and licenses etc and decides to just fly with an instructor. Then a few years later he's got more time, is in a better headspace and decides to go for his license 'for real'.

Or a kid too young to get his license getting funded by his parents to fly as soon as he can reach the pedals.

Or someone who likes to fly but can't get a medical. Gets it X years later and finishes his license and solo requirements.

Rare, but not necessarily a red flag in itself.

I flew with a guy that had hundreds of hours of solo time as a student but wasn't getting the license yet. It was his plane but I had to be PIC. He did good formation flying, as he had quite a bit of experience at it.

[broken_slinky]

She had posted a lot of videos on Youtube. The family has since taken down the majority. They're still available through other Youtubers though. In one video she is at or over 400 hours in her log book and the video is quite damning. Her piloting skills are scary. No idea how to set power and prop during climb and decent. Even seemed lacking during cruise. Zero spatial awareness. She gets lost a few miles from the departing airport and "circles" around a 1/2 dozen times before figuring out a relatively correct direction. Continually tries to fly south and west when she's supposed to be going northeast. Zero training and understanding of her autopilot. She even jokes about accidentally shutting off the GPS during flight and not knowing how to turn it back on. Not that she seems to be able to use it properly anyways. Her use of manual trim is shocking and a key indictor of why she crashed. She asks her dad to adjust the heat in the cabin and he just starts fiddling with stuff. She didn't brief him prior or point him in the direction of those controls. She states in one video that her dad has lots of experience with flying. Not sure if she relied on that in the cockpit but definitely wasn't any help. She has her head buried in her iPad most of the time. She constantly looks at the cameras she has in the cockpit and makes little adjustments. She was told by several instructors that she should consider hanging up the headset. She gets defensive and blames the learning curve on their abilities. On top of that, she had a bunch of different anxiety drugs in her system. Each on their own were enough to ground her. Sad to say but looking back through her videos, it was inevitable to happen.