Piper PA 28-140 N3865K

Summary

On 9 December 2021 at about 01:57 local time, a Piper PA 28-140 registered N3865K, operated by Breathtaking Navigation LLC, was involved in an accident near Houston, Texas, 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

9 December 2021 at 01:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Houston, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

West Houston Airport (KIWS)

Coordinates

29.7780, -95.6730

Aircraft

Piper PA 28-140

Registration

N3865K

Category

Airplane

Year built

1967

Engines

1

Operator

Breathtaking Navigation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Pearland

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CEN22FA067

2 people died.

The student pilot’s decision to depart into night instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and a loss of airplane control.  

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot and passenger departed in the pilot’s recently purchased airplane into night instrument meteorological conditions. Flight track information indicated that the airplane departed the airport and proceeded generally south-southwest. The track showed a slight descending left turn and the airplane’s groundspeed increased. The airplane then made a slightly tighter, climbing right turn before entering a tight left descending turn toward the northeast, followed immediately by a hard right descending turn back to the southwest. The airplane’s descent rate continued to increase until contact was lost about 700 ft above the ground. There were no witnesses to the accident. The airplane impacted trees and terrain about 2.5 miles southwest of the departure end of the runway. Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Review of weather information indicated prevailing instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) in the area of the accident site due to low ceilings and visibility restricted in mist, with ceilings near 500 ft above ground level and tops near 2,000 ft mean sea level. There was no evidence that the pilot obtained a preflight weather briefing from an access-controlled source before departure. Postaccident toxicology testing revealed that the pilot had used cannabis; low concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its inactive metabolite, carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH), were detected in his blood. Low concentrations of 11-OH-THC and THC-COOH were detected in his urine. Peak effects from using cannabis typically occur in the first couple of hours and concentrations of THC typically fall below 5 ng/mL after three hours. Since THC is stored in fatty tissues and is slowly released days and weeks after using cannabis, low concentrations can be detected long after use, especially in more chronic users. While the pilot’s pattern of cannabis use is unknown, given the low concentration of THC and THC-COOH in his blood, it is unlikely that the pilot was under the influence of THC at the time of the accident, and it is unlikely that the effects of his use of cannabis contributed to this accident. The pilot’s lack of training in instrument meteorological conditions and at night were conducive to the development of spatial disorientation, and the airplane’s flight track was consistent with the known effects of spatial disorientation. Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot encountered instrument meteorological conditions shortly after takeoff which resulted in his spatial disorientation and a loss of airplane control.  

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.