Piper PA-22-150 N6916D

Summary

On 15 January 2022 at about 01:02 local time, a Piper PA-22-150 registered N6916D was involved in an accident near Lamesa, Texas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 January 2022 at 01:02

Classification

Accident

Location

Lamesa, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.7376, -101.9510

Aircraft

Piper PA-22-150

Registration

N6916D

Category

Airplane

Year built

1957

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Addison → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CEN22LA108

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from terrain during a descent that resulted in an impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the night visual flight rules cross-country flight, the pilot monitored weather conditions on his tablet computer and observed “unspecified meteorological conditions,” which encompassed his intended destination. The pilot elected to divert to an alternate destination and climbed to 4,500 ft msl. The pilot noted that he had a kneeboard with destination airport information, and after diverting, he made notes denoting changes to reflect the new destination. He did not recall if he changed the pattern altitude for the new destination. He attributed this omission to distraction during the flight while he modified his flight plan via the airplane radio. As he approached the new destination, the horizon was not “definite,” but he could see the lights of the city and began a shallow descent. While descending, he noted that the city lights disappeared, and as he contemplated why this happened, the airplane struck the ground. He reported that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane before the accident and he “just flew it into the ground.” The field elevation at the original destination was 1,561 ft msl, and the elevation new destination was 2,999 ft msl.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.