Piper PA-32-300 N888PR

Summary

On 31 December 2006 at about 23:32 local time, a Piper PA-32-300 registered N888PR, operated by Michael R. D'Arcy, was involved in an accident near Romeo, Michigan, United States. 4 people were on board and one died, 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 December 2006 at 23:32

Classification

Accident

Location

Romeo, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-300

Registration

N888PR

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Michael R. D'Arcy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Traverse City → Romeo

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CHI07LA051

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control and proper rate of descent during the VOR approach. Factors associated with the accident were the low cloud conditions and moderate to heavy rain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was flying a VOR approach in instrument conditions when the accident occurred. Data indicated that the airplane entered a left standard rate turn and descended into trees approximately 2.5 miles from the airport. Two of the passengers on board reported that there was no indication of any problem during the flight. They reported that they had just descended below the clouds and thought they were landing just prior to contacting the trees. Witnesses reported moderate to heavy rain in the area at the time of the accident. A plot of the GPS data shows the airplane traveled south of the approach course. It then turned left back toward the course. The GPS data then showed that approximately 20 seconds prior to the last recorded position, the airplane entered a 2.6 degree/sec left turn, while accelerating from 99 mph to 119 mph. The last recorded GPS position was approximately 275 yards south of the accident site. Post accident inspection of the airplane and engine failed to reveal any pre-existing failure/malfunction, which would have resulted in the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.