Piper PA-28-180 N55893

Summary

On 10 March 2001 at about 02:03 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N55893 was involved in an accident near Erhard, Minnesota, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 March 2001 at 02:03

Classification

Accident

Location

Erhard, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

46.4802, -96.0891

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N55893

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Ferry

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Detroit Lakes → Fergus Falls

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CHI01FA100

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. Factors relating to the accident were the pilot's encounter with known adverse weather conditions, the low ceiling, the pilot disregarding the weather observation information obtained prior to the flight, and the pilot's lack of instrument experience.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The owner of the airplane said that he and the pilot had flown to Detroit Lakes (DTL), Minnesota, in the airplane so that the owner could pick up another airplane and ferry it back to Fergus Falls (FFM), Minnesota. The owner said the flight to DTL was uneventful. At DTL, they checked the weather for the return flight. The automatic weather observing/reporting system (AWOS) at FFM was reporting a ceiling of 800 feet overcast and 7 miles visibility. The owner took off in a Piper Seneca before the pilot took off. The owner said that he heard the pilot over his airplane radio departing DTL. En route to FFM, the pilot contacted the owner and inquired if the owner got up okay. The owner responded that everything was working. The pilot then said, "You must be close to Fergus [Falls]". The owner said that he was 11 miles from FFM at that time. The owner said he landed right at 2000. While taxiing to the ramp, the owner said he tried to call the pilot on the airplane's radio. There was no response. The owner parked his airplane and went into the fixed base operator (FBO) to contact the pilot on the FBO radio. Again, there was no response. A witness on a farm located near the accident site said that he first heard the airplane. "We couldn't see it. It was in the clouds or fog." The witness said the ground visibility was good. "The airplane appeared out of the fog approximately up 150 ft. spiraling sharp to the right, and going down fast. It only took a few seconds for it to hit the ground." The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land airplane rating. At 2017, the AWOS at FFM, 15 miles south of the accident site, reported sky conditions 600 overcast, 7 miles visibility, temperature 21 degrees Fahrenheit (F), dew point 14 degrees F, winds 150 degrees at 12 knots, and altimeter 29.91 inches of mercury. An examination of the airplane systems revealed no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.