Piper PA-32-260 N33315
4 December 2011 · St. Ignace, Michigan, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 4 December 2011 at about 01:10 local time, a Piper PA-32-260 registered N33315, operated by Great Lakes Air Inc, was involved in an accident near St. Ignace, Michigan, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 01:10
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- St. Ignace, Michigan, United States
- Coordinates
- 44.9233, -84.7247
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-260
- Registration
- N33315
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Great Lakes Air Inc
- Operating rule
- Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- St. Ignace → Mackinac Island
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- IMC
- Light
- Night/Dark
- NTSB number
- CEN12FA097
People
2 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilot’s decision to initiate visual flight in instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent failure to maintain adequate altitude.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot departed the mainland to drop a passenger off on an island located about 5 miles off shore. The pilot did not land on the island but was returning to the departure airport with the passenger still on board when the airplane contacted trees and terrain about 1.4 miles north of the departure airport. According to witnesses and weather observations, instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at both the departure and destination airports around the time of the accident, including rain and fog conditions. The flight was being operated under night visual flight rules. The accident site was located between a brightly lit casino/hotel resort and the airport. The pilot most likely located the casino/hotel and was following the shoreline back to the airport when the accident occurred. A witness reported hearing the airplane before the impact. No preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane were identified that would have precluded normal operation.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-32 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Apr 2011 | Piper PA-32-301 | Cold Bay, Alaska, United States | Peninsula Airways Inc | No injuries | - |
| 4 Jan 2011 | Piper PA-32-300 | Platinum, Alaska, United States | Alaska Island Air Inc | Minor injuries | - |
| 22 Jul 2011 | Piper PA-32-260 | Bolivar, Missouri, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 20 Dec 2011 | Piper PA-32-260 | Bryan, Texas, United States | - | Fatal | 5 |
| 31 Dec 2011 | Piper PA-32-260 | Elk Rapids, Michigan, United States | Sam Pfeiffer, Jr. | Minor injuries | - |
| 26 Jun 2011 | Piper PA-32-300 | Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States | Three Wing Flying Services | Serious injuries | - |
All 1,695 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Jul 2011 | Taylorcraft DCO-65 | Boyne City, Michigan, United States | Balogh Eugene W | Fatal | 1 |
| 21 Aug 2011 | Aero Commander CALLAIR A-9B | Marshall, Michigan, United States | Marshall Soaring Club Inc | Fatal | 1 |
| 15 Jul 2011 | Degraw RHINO II | Jackson, Michigan, United States | Degraw Richard R Trustee | Serious injuries | - |
| 6 Oct 2011 | Brinkerhuff Gerald G Q200 | Holland, Michigan, United States | Brinkerhuff Gerald G | Fatal | 1 |
| 16 Jul 2011 | Dixon VOLKSPLANE VP-1 | Jackson, Michigan, United States | Dixon Bartley M | Minor injuries | - |
| 7 Oct 2011 | Wilhelm CALIDUS | Thompsonville, Michigan, United States | - | No injuries | - |