Wing Fracture in a Piper PA-28R-201 Airplane Used for Flight Training

On April 4, 2018, an airline transport pilot and a private pilot were performing training maneuvers in Daytona Beach, Florida, when the airplane’s left wing fractured and separated at the wing root, resulting in a crash with fatal injuries to both occupants. Fatigue fracture features were observed on the main spar lower spar cap, and additional fatigue cracks were identified in the right wing spar of the accident airplane and in a wing spar installed on a sister airplane owned by the same operator. The NTSB had previously investigated a wing fatigue fracture in a similar airplane model that was used for pipeline survey work and had crashed in 1987 in Marlin, Texas. Results of the examination of the fractured and cracked wing spars will be presented, and the role of operational loads in the fatigue crack development will be discussed.