Not to Monday night quarter back, but a whole lot of WTF going on with the touch and go's. Student pilot flying wrong with no climb rate which the controller sees and calls it out. Audio starts on play and goes into minute 8. I had to go back and look at the logbook and yep, I flew N82587 (PA-28 161) back in 2003.


Control Tower Audio







News Story

ETA: Photos

That was weird. I wonder if she had engine issues?

Whole lot of WTF? in that tape.  I'll have to listen again, but it sounded like the pilot said something about going too fast, and she was quick to jump on the request for assistance, but never declared, or said anything was wrong.  Strange..

That Jena126 you can hear is the FBI's Dash8 N721AL.

This section of audio gives a better insight to a lot of confusion going on with the student pilot. Start at minute 20:00, she has confusion on ground and tower frequencies with her com panel not to mention understanding what an extended crosswind or extended downwind mean when you have slower traffic in front of you in the pattern. She decided not to land and go around, crash happens on the downwind to base for 16R and ended up too low?

audio of take off and pattern work

LOL, you caught that also. Lots of JENA traffic out of Manassas

Most have switched to the "Limo" callsign.  I think it's just that one, some helos and the Gulfstream using Jena still.

I'll have to pay more attention, I remember Customs using LIMA and OMAHA. FBI used IDAHO many years ago before JENA. Thanks for the update.

NTSB PRELIMINARY:

NTSB Identification: ERA15LA315
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, August 16, 2015 in Bristow, VA
Aircraft: PIPER PA 28-161, registration: N82587
Injuries: 1 Serious.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On August 16, 2015, at 0906 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-161, N82587, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain in Bristow, Virginia. The student pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The local solo instructional flight was operating in the traffic pattern at Manassas Regional Airport (HEF), Manassas, Virginia and was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

A preliminary review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control communication records indicated that the airplane had been operating in the traffic pattern at HEF for runway 16R. As the airplane made a base leg to final approach leg turn, the pilot advised that she was going to perform a go around. The tower controller acknowledged and provided a clearance to fly right closed traffic. About 4 minutes later, while on the downwind leg, the controller advised the pilot that she appeared to be low, and asked if she required assistance. The pilot indicated that she did, and the controller advised her to climb to 1,000 feet and continue the downwind leg. The pilot's response was unintelligible, and the controller again advised the pilot to climb to 1,000 feet. The pilot responded "I think I'm going too fast, I need [unintelligible]". The controller instructed the pilot to climb again, however there was no response.

The airplane subsequently impacted a wooded area in the backyard of a residence, about 1.5 miles northwest of HEF, and came to rest upright.

An FAA inspector examined the airplane at the accident scene. The fuselage and right wing remained intact; the left wing was separated and remained in the tree canopy about 35 feet above the ground. The fuselage had crush damage on the lower left side along its length, from the nose section to the vertical stabilizer. The right wing leading edge was crushed aft in several places consistent with tree impacts. The horizontal stabilator was partially separated from the fuselage. Flight control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit controls to their respective control surfaces. About 18 gallons of fuel were recovered from the right wing. The engine and airframe were retained for further examination

Records from the pilot's flight school revealed that she had logged about 61 total flight hours, 4.3 solo flight hours, and she had completed 5 solo flights, prior to the accident flight.
The 0955 weather observation at HEF included wind from 180 at 3 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, sky clear, temperature 25 degrees C, dew point 20 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 30.17 inches of mercury.
Aviation Accident & Synopsis Query Page

The interviews with her instructors should be interesting, unless she has a long break in her training.  57 hours to solo?

I think I might've had more than 57 hours when I first soloed and I turned out alright. I went through four flight schools; the final school had me soloing after three lessons.

That's what I was trying to say, if she bounced around schools, or instructors, probably not a big deal.  One instructor, or uninterrupted training, I'd start to look at the student closer.

I had close to 100 hours when I soloed  But it was on my 16th birthday