Piper PA-34-200T N577SK

Summary

On 2 August 2003 at about 19:00 local time, a Piper PA-34-200T registered N577SK was involved in an accident near Galion, Ohio, United States. 4 people were on board and 2 died, 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 August 2003 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Galion, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Galion Municipal (GQQ)

Coordinates

40.7353, -82.7186

Aircraft

Piper PA-34-200T

Registration

N577SK

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Akron → Galion

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD03FA069

2 people died.

The pilot's improper in-flight decision making and flight into known adverse weather conditions while maneuvering to land. Also causal was the pilot's failure to regard the pre-flight weather briefing. Factors were the thunderstorm, rain, wind gusts and hail.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The certificated commercial pilot obtained a weather briefing 2-hours before departing on a short VFR cross country flight. According to the weather briefer, there was the potential for rain and thunderstorms along the pilot's intended route of flight. The pilot's wife, a passenger who sat in the front right seat, said they did not encounter any weather until they arrived at their destination. The rain began hitting the windshield so hard, that it was hard to hear the air traffic controller. The pilot made one attempt to land, but was unable to see out of the front windshield due to the heavy rain, and elected to go-around. He pushed the throttles full forward, and attempted to climb, but stated that the airplane would not climb. A witness, a flight instructor with over 17,000 of flight time, saw the airplane over the runway, in a climb. Shortly after, the weather at the airport became intense with winds gusting to 50 miles per hour, lightning, heavy rain, and hail. The witness said he thought the storm would have produced a tornado.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.