Piper PA-28-181 N2823H

Summary

On 7 January 2005 at about 23:56 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N2823H was involved in an accident near Bradley, South Carolina, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 January 2005 at 23:56

Classification

Accident

Location

Bradley, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Greenwood County (KGRD)

Coordinates

34.0594, -82.2425

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N2823H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

McCormick → Greenwood

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

ATL05FA041

4 people died.

The pilot's loss of control of the airplane due to spatial disorientation, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent and collision with trees and the ground. A factor was the dark night conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was on a visual flight rules (VFR) night flight over a sparsely populated area; the airplane crashed about 9 miles from the departure airport. Wreckage and impact information was consistent with a steep-angle, high-speed descent. No evidence of mechanical malfunction was observed. Weather conditions included mid to high-level cloud coverage with ceilings broken at 2,200 feet above ground level and overcast at 3,400 feet above ground level. Moon phase was a waning crescent with 11 percent of visible disk illuminated. Review of these data by a Safety Board senior meteorologist revealed that the moon was below the horizon at the time of the accident and would have been obscured by the mid to high-level cloud cover. According to FAA advisory circular (AC) 60-4A "Pilot's Spatial Disorientation," "Surface references and the natural horizon may at times become obscured, although visibility may be above visual flight rule minimums. Lack of natural horizon or surface reference is common ... especially at night in extremely sparsely populated areas or in low visibility conditions. A sloping cloud formation, an obscured horizon, a dark scene spread with ground lights and stars, and certain geometric patterns of ground lights can provide inaccurate visual information for aligning the aircraft correctly with the actual horizon. The disoriented pilot may place the aircraft in a dangerous attitude."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.