Piper PA-28R-200 N15900

Summary

On 25 October 2000 at about 00:10 local time, a Piper PA-28R-200 registered N15900 was involved in an accident near Gaylord, Michigan, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 October 2000 at 00:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Gaylord, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Otsego County Airport (GLR)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Piper PA-28R-200

Registration

N15900

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Grand Rapids → Gaylord

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CHI01FA025

2 people died.

The pilot not maintaining proper glideslope and localizer alignment during the precision instrument approach, the pilot continuing flight below the decision height, the pilot not performing a missed approach, and the pilot not maintaining altitude/clearance from the trees and terrain. Contributing factors to the accident were the air traffic controller not issuing the current weather conditions to the pilot prior to the approach clearance, the weather conditions being below the instrument approach landing minimums, the pilot's lack of recent experience in instrument flight rules (IFR) operations and the pilot disregarding federal regulations regarding instrument currency.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain during a precision instrument approach. The wreckage was located 0.66 nautical miles (nm) left of the course centerline and 2.44 nm from the runway threshold. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident with a visibility of 1/4 statute mile (sm) and a vertical visibility of 100 feet above ground level (agl). No anomalies were found with the airplane, engine, and systems that could be identified as existing prior to impact. Subsequent to the accident, the instrument approach was flight-tested and was fully operational with no discrepancies. The landing minimums for the instrument approach were a cloud height of 200 feet agl and a visibility of 1/2 statute mile. Air traffic control (ATC) did not issue the current weather conditions to the pilot or verify that the pilot had the current weather conditions prior to issuing the clearance for the instrument approach. The pilot was not current for operations in instrument meteorological conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.