Piper PA-30 N8372Y

Summary

On 26 December 2013 at about 10:30 local time, a Piper PA-30 registered N8372Y was involved in an accident near Biglerville, Pennsylvania, 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

26 December 2013 at 10:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Biglerville, Pennsylvania, United States

Coordinates

39.9695, -77.2294

Aircraft

Piper PA-30

Registration

N8372Y

Category

Airplane

Year built

1967

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bloomsburg → Summerville

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA14FA077

2 people died.

The noninstrument-rated pilot's spatial disorientation after inadvertently encountering instrument meteorological conditions at night and his subsequent loss of airplane control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Before the flight, the pilot obtained weather information for an airport near the departure airport and for an airport about 275 miles south along his route of flight. He did not file a flight plan, did not receive any other services for the accident flight, and departed in night visual meteorological conditions. According to GPS and air traffic control data, the airplane was flying on a southwesterly heading before it turned right. It subsequently turned left and then right before it entered a descending left turn and impacted terrain. Examinations of the airframe and engines revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Further, there was no evidence of a medical impairment that would have affected the pilot's performance. A review of the plot's logbooks revealed no entries for night or instrument flight in the year before the accident. A National Weather Service observation from about 15 miles southwest of the accident site showed rapidly changing conditions with a band of snow moving across the region at the time of the accident. In addition, the next observation showed a lowering ceiling that was overcast to broken from 3,200 to 2,800 ft above ground level; snow started falling about 26 minutes after the accident. Considering the weather conditions around the time of the accident, it is likely that the pilot inadvertently encountered instrument meteorological conditions in light snow with no visible surface lights and, as a result, had to transition to relying solely on the instruments. Given these conditions, the pilot's limited instrument and night experience, and the pilot's maneuvering, it is likely that he experienced spatial disorientation and subsequently entered a descending left turn and lost control of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.