Piper PA-32-260 N55DH
24 September 1994 · Williamsport, Indiana, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 24 September 1994 at about 01:23 local time, a Piper PA-32-260 registered N55DH was involved in an accident near Williamsport, Indiana, United States. 4 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 01:23
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Williamsport, Indiana, United States
- Coordinates
- 40.2796, -87.2907
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-260
- Registration
- N55DH
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- New Hudson → Danville
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- IMC
- Light
- Night/Dark
- NTSB number
- CHI94LA349
People
2 people were seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Probable cause
The continued flight into adverse weather conditions, the student's failure to maintain a proper glideslope and the CFI's delay in initiating remedial action. Factors related to the accident were the lightning and turbulent thunderstorm conditions.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING VECTORED FOR AN ILS RWY 21 APPROACH IN RAIN, LIGHTNING, AND LIGHT TO OCCASIONAL MODERATE TURBULENCE. THE CFI AND STUDENT CONTINUED THE APPROACH AND JUST AS THE AIRPLANE INTERCEPTED THE GLIDESLOPE A 'BRILLIANT FLASH OF LIGHTNING' OCCURRED. OFF FLAGS WERE THEN RECEIVED FOR BOTH THE LOCALIZER AND GLIDESLOPE. AS THE CFI CALLED FOR THE STUDENT TO BREAK OFF THE APPROACH, THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED TO IMPACT WITH THE TERRAIN. A CONVECTIVE SIGMET FOR IMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WAS IN EFFECT AND HAD BEEN BROADCAST TO THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE; HOWEVER, THE CFI MISINTERPRETED THE INFORMATION AND DID NOT THINK THE SIGMET WAS FOR THEIR AREA.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-32 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Feb 1994 | Piper PA-32-300 | Tamarac, Florida, United States | Jacobson, Milton C. | No injuries | - |
| 29 Jul 1994 | Piper PA-32-300 | Marshalltown, Iowa, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 3 Aug 1994 | Piper PA-32-300 | Richmond, Missouri, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 28 Jan 1994 | Piper PA-32-301 | Truckee, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 16 Aug 1994 | Piper PA-32-260 | Front Royal, Virginia, United States | William H Peoples | Fatal | 5 |
| 17 Mar 1994 | Piper PA-32-300 | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
All 1,695 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Jul 1994 | Grumman FM-2 | Woodburn, Indiana, United States | Kalamazoo Aviation History | No injuries | - |
| 26 Sep 1994 | Simcox SPORT TRAINER | Laporte, Indiana, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 31 Jul 1994 | Piper PA-28-200 | Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States | Robert C. Randol | Minor injuries | - |
| 29 Jul 1994 | Lattimore-Dwyer BREEZY | Goshen, Indiana, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 9 Feb 1994 | Cessna 320F | Goshen, Indiana, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 29 Jul 1994 | Miller KITFOX | Spencer, Indiana, United States | Miller, Richard B. | No injuries | - |