Piper PA-28-140 N9626K

Summary

On 26 August 2024 at about 14:44 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N9626K was involved in an accident near Wayne, Nebraska, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

26 August 2024 at 14:44

Classification

Accident

Location

Wayne, Nebraska, United States

Coordinates

42.3344, -97.0675

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N9626K

Category

Airplane

Year built

1976

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Norfolk → Buffalo

Aircraft damage

Substantial

NTSB number

CEN24FA327

1 person died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On August 26, 2024, about 0931 central daylight time, a Piper PA28-140, N9626K, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Wayne, Nebraska. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight originated from Norfolk Regional Airport (OFK), Norfolk, Nebraska, and departed to the northeast, presumably to return to Buffalo, Minnesota. The airplane had been hangered as a transient at OFK for the weekend. The FBO manager stated that the airplane was refueled by the pilot at the self-service fuel pump prior to departure but he did not observe the pilot check the weather at the FBO. The pilot rated landowner, whose property the airplane impacted, stated the clouds were at about 100 ft above the ground when he initially heard the airplane fly by. Several minutes later he heard the airplane at a very high rpm followed by a loud “pop” and silence afterwards. A black plume of smoke appeared, and he eventually located the airplane in his cornfield. Examination of the airframe, engine and propeller at the accident site did not reveal any pre-impact anomalies. An SD card was recovered from a Honeywell AV8OR personal navigator and was retained for data download. The FBO manager stated weather at OFK at the time of departure of the accident airplane was mostly clear skies with 10+ miles of visibility. A surface observation taken about 7 nautical miles southeast of the accident site recorded ceilings at 600 ft agl near the time of the accident. A preliminary review of weather radar for the time and place of the accident showed a band of precipitation moving across the area. Flight track data showed the airplane traveling below 1,000 ft agl.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.