Piper PA 46-350P N46PT

Summary

On 25 April 2010 at about 21:40 local time, a Piper PA 46-350P registered N46PT, operated by T & K LLC, was involved in an incident near Owensboro, Kentucky, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 April 2010 at 21:40

Classification

Incident

Location

Owensboro, Kentucky, United States

Coordinates

37.7386, -87.1667

Aircraft

Piper PA 46-350P

Registration

N46PT

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

T & K LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Carbondale → Winston-Salem

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10IA254

Nobody was injured.

A failure of the pilot's side window due to undetected cracking around the lower aft portion of the storm window cutout.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While flying at 15,000 feet in the pressurized airplane, the pilot's side window blew out. The pilot successfully diverted to a nearby airport and landed uneventfully after performing an instrument approach in instrument meteorological conditions. Postincident examination of the window revealed that the primary fracture, which ultimately resulted in the in-flight loss of the window, exhibited signatures of preexisting cracking. The airframe manufacturer had previously issued a service bulletin that detailed inspections of the window for cracking, and while the cracking observed on the incident window occurred outside of the area called out in the service bulletin, review of the incident airplane's maintenance records showed no evidence that any portion of the service bulletin had ever been complied with.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.