Piper PA 46-350P N46TW

Summary

On 24 July 2011 at about 14:20 local time, a Piper PA 46-350P registered N46TW was involved in an accident near Rantoul, Illinois, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 July 2011 at 14:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Rantoul, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Rantoul National Aviation Cntr (TIP)

Coordinates

40.2853, -88.1531

Aircraft

Piper PA 46-350P

Registration

N46TW

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Rantoul → Sarasota

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dawn

NTSB number

CEN11FA500

3 people died.

The pilot did not maintain airplane control during takeoff with approaching thunderstorms. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to depart into adverse weather conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness reported that the pilot was in a "hurry because a storm front was coming." Another witness reported that the airplane took off and started to turn to the south. He stated that a weather front was arriving at the airport and that strong wind from the northwest appeared to "push the tail of the plane up and the nose down." The airplane descended, impacted power lines and terrain, and subsequently caught fire. The witness indicated that the airplane's engine was producing power until impact. On the day before departure, the pilot obtained a computerized weather briefing and filed a flight plan; none of the weather briefing products were current at the time of the accident. On the morning of the accident, the area forecast outlook indicated expected thunderstorms during the morning hours in the vicinity of the accident site. Recorded weather information at the departure airport, about the takeoff time, indicated lightning in the distant north and northwest. Recovered pictures taken during passenger boarding and while taxiing to the runway depicted a defined shelf, rotor, or arc cloud, which marked the boundary of the low-level outflow of a storm that was approaching the airport. Dark conditions under the clouds are consistent with approaching precipitation. An on-scene examination revealed no preimpact anomalies with the engine or airframe.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.