Piper PA-32-300 N54406

Summary

On 26 February 2003 at about 17:15 local time, a Piper PA-32-300 registered N54406, operated by Harry B. Steinbach, was involved in an accident near Sylvania, Georgia, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 February 2003 at 17:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Sylvania, Georgia, United States

Coordinates

32.7164, -81.6297

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-300

Registration

N54406

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Harry B. Steinbach

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Unkown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL03FA049

1 person died.

The pilot's decision to conduct VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions, and his failure to maintain obstacle clearance. Related factors were the guy wire and the fog.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed with fog, no flight plan was filed, and the pilot was not instrument rated. A witness in the vicinity of the accident site reported that he saw the airplane clip a Comcast television tower, then saw parts falling off. He said it came across the road and in front of him. Then it nose-dived into the ground and exploded. Wreckage debris was located in a wooded grass area near the tower. Examination of the wreckage disclosed that one propeller blade displayed leading edge saw tooth nicks and gouges and was bent and twisted aft approximately 50-degrees. The other propeller blade was bent aft approximately 70-degrees from the hub. Further examination of the right wing assembly disclosed about a two foot wide section of the wing was found separated into two-pieces, and found near the base of the tower. The separation area was cut uniformly from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the wing and continuing through the two feet wide center section of the aileron. Witnesses also stated that the visibility in the area was poor do to foggy conditions. Local authorities also confirmed that when they arrived on-scene it was very foggy and visibility was extremely poor. The nearest weather reporting facility at the time of the accident was Bulloch County Airport in Statesboro, Georgia, recorded at 1202, were winds from 110-degrees at 4 knots; 4 statue miles of visibility with overcast at 600-feet. Temperature was reported at 15-degrees Celsius, dew point 12-degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.07. According to a weather depiction chart recorded at 1600Z, Sylvania, Georgia and the surrounding area reported instrument weather conditions with ceilings less than 1,000 feet and or visibility less than 3 miles.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.