Piper PA-46-310P N9103Z

Summary

On 23 February 2004 at about 14:49 local time, a Piper PA-46-310P registered N9103Z was involved in an accident near Arlington, Alabama, 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

23 February 2004 at 14:49

Classification

Accident

Location

Arlington, Alabama, United States

Coordinates

32.0672, -87.6128

Aircraft

Piper PA-46-310P

Registration

N9103Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Panama City → Tulsa

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL04FA077

2 people died.

The pilots inadequate in-flight planning/decision and his failure to maintain aircraft control, resulting in an in-flight encounter with a thunderstorm and exceeding the design limits of the aircraft.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot received a preflight briefing from the Gainesville Automated Flight Service Station before departing on the instrument flight. The briefer advised the pilot of the potential for occasional moderate turbulence between 24,000 and 37,000 feet and on the current Convective SIGMET for embedded thunderstorms over southern Mississippi. The flight was in cruise flight at 24, 000 feet when the airplane encountered moderate to severe turbulence and heavy rain. The airplane descended from 24,000 feet to 3,100 feet in a descending right turn in 2 minutes and 10 seconds before radar contact was lost. The airplane was located 8 hours 26 minutes after the accident along a crash debris line that extended between 1.31 miles and 1.53 miles northwest of Arlington, Alabama. Airframe components recovered from the accident site were submitted to the NTSB Materials laboratory for examination. The examinations revealed all failures were consistent with overstress fracturing and there was no evidence of pre-existing conditions or fatigue damage. Examination of the airframe revealed that the airframe design limits were exceeded. The Pilot's Operating Handbook states the maximum structural cruising speed is 173 knots indicated airspeed or 170 knots calibrated airspeed. The co-pilot airspeed indicator at the crash site indicated 180 knots calibrated airspeed. The design maneuvering speed is 135 knots indicated airspeed or 133 knots calibrated airspeed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.