Piper PA28 accident near Galax Hillsville, Virginia, July 1, 2015

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The commercial pilot was conducting a cross-country personal flight and reported that the airplane was on the final approach leg of the traffic pattern when it impacted terrain short of the runway. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation; however, he could not recall what occurred just before or during the accident sequence. The pilot-rated passenger noted that the airplane was low during the final approach and that he put his hand on the pilot's hand to add power but that the airplane impacted the ground about that time. Although the pilot indicated that he believed that the airplane might have descended due to a microburst, he noted that it was not raining at the time of the accident. Further, there was no evidence of any microburst activity within 10 miles of the accident site about the time of the accident and no indications of any outflow boundary or gust front. An airplane performance study using GPS and reported wind data revealed that the pilot was slowing the airplane while on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, and that, while turning onto the final approach leg of the traffic pattern, he continued slowing it while turning onto the base and final legs of the traffic pattern. While on the final approach leg of the traffic pattern, he allowed the airplane to slow to near the stall speed. It is likely that the airplane exceeded its critical angle-of-attack during the turn at low airspeed, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and the airplane's subsequent impact with terrain short of the runway.

The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.