Piper PA-24-250 N5476P

Summary

On 24 August 2008 at about 14:28 local time, a Piper PA-24-250 registered N5476P was involved in an accident near Yuma, Colorado, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 August 2008 at 14:28

Classification

Accident

Location

Yuma, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Yuma Municipal Airport (2V6)

Coordinates

40.1072, -102.7064

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-250

Registration

N5476P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pueblo → Yuma

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW08FA212

3 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane after an encounter with instrument meteorological conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was taking two adult family members to the destination airport, which he had regularly flown to for years. Two witnesses at the airport said that it was "very foggy" with "no ceiling" and that the heaviest fog began approximately 20 to 30 minutes before the accident. The estimated visibility in the fog was approximately 1/2 mile. Witnesses at the airport said that they were inside their office when they heard an airplane coming toward them from the west. The witnesses ran outside after the airplane flew over their office "very low and very fast." The witnesses could not see the airplane, but heard it continue flying away from the airport to the east and heard a change in the sound that indicated "the plane was making a hard turn." Approximately ten seconds after hearing the change in sound, and while the witnesses were looking toward the sound of the airplane, they heard a "loud thump" or "thud" and almost immediately saw a ball of fire. No precrash anomalies were noted with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot was rated, and the airplane was certified, for instrument-flight-rules flight, although no flight plan was filed. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Denver air route traffic control center provided visual-flight-rules flight following to the pilot during the flight. The center's last radio contact with the pilot was at 0810, when the flight was approximately 20 miles southwest of the destination airport, after the pilot had terminated flight following. The investigation was unable to determine whether the pilot requested a formal weather briefing prior to the flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.