June 4, 2011, Astoria, Ore., Piper PA-24-250 Comanche

At about 1741 Pacific time, the airplane crashed into an open field, sustaining substantial damage. The student pilot owned and operated the airplane; he was fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed. The pilot was completing a solo, round-robin, cross-country instructional flight. The student pilot telephoned his CFI during the accident flight, initially reporting a discharging ammeter, then reporting total loss of electrical power.

Editorial Staff

Monday, July 18, 2011 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A student pilot was fatally injured when his airplane crashed during a solo, round-robin, cross-country instructional flight under visual conditions.
The pilot telephoned his CFI during the flight, reporting an initial discharging ammeter followed by a total loss of electrical power.
The student pilot and CFI remained in contact for at least 45 minutes while the airplane circled, with its landing gear fully extended, before it was observed descending nose-down and rolling prior to impact.

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The student pilot telephoned his CFI during the accident flight, initially reporting a discharging ammeter, then reporting total loss of electrical power. According to the CFI, after circling over the area for at least 45 minutes, during which a series of telephone calls ensued between him and the student, the airplanes landing gear was fully extended.

Subsequently, a witness observed the airplane descending with its nose pointed nearly straight down and rolling about its longitudinal axis. No fire or smoke was trailing from the airplane. The accident site was about one mile south the Runway 31 landing threshold, and 0.4 miles west of the runways extended centerline.