Piper PA-28-140 N4533R

Summary

On 1 August 2011 at about 15:33 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N4533R, operated by Gulf Air Center Inc, was involved in an accident near Unknown, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 August 2011 at 15:33

Classification

Accident

Location

Unknown, United States

Coordinates

29.0794, -88.6317

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N4533R

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Gulf Air Center Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gulf Shores → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11FAMS1

1 person died.

The non-instrumented rated pilot’s flight into instrument meteorological conditions for undetermined reasons, resulting in an in-flight loss of control, uncontrolled descent, and collision with the water.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The non-instrument-rated pilot arranged with a flight instructor to fly with him for the purpose of obtaining a flight review. Before the pilot’s arrival at the airport, he phoned the operator’s facility and requested that the fuel tanks be filled. The fuel tanks were filled as requested, and after his arrival at the operator’s facility, he requested that the customer service representative take the flight instructor’s name off the reservation and put his name on it because he did not want the flight instructor responsible in case anything were to occur. This comment was overheard by the flight instructor, prompting him to reassure the pilot that they would have a good flight. The pilot was given the book and keys for the airplane and went to it, started the engine, taxied out, and departed from runway 9 about 7:14 am without the flight instructor. The flight instructor, who intended to fly with the pilot later, thought that the pilot was planning to execute several touch-and-go landings and takeoffs in advance of their lesson. When the pilot did not return, the instructor attempted to communicate with the pilot on a VHF frequency; however, the pilot did not respond. Uncorrelated radar data tracked the airplane from takeoff until it was lost from radar while over the Gulf of Mexico. The uncorrelated radar data indicates that after takeoff, the pilot proceeded northwest where he orbited several times, then proceeded south, flying over the Gulf of Mexico. The flight climbed to a maximum altitude of 13,100 feet mean sea level (msl), then descended to 10,900 feet msl, where 3-D modeling indicates the flight penetrated level 2 radar returns, which are known to have light to moderate turbulence, precipitation, updrafts and downdrafts. This was the last radar return from the airplane. About 3 hours 19 minutes after takeoff, the airplane was lost from radar; a search for the airplane was initiated by the U.S. Coast Guard; however, no wreckage, debris, or the pilot’s body were ever located. The pilot did not contact an air traffic control facility at any time during the flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.