Piper PA-32R-301 N432LT

Summary

On 19 July 2012 at about 00:46 local time, a Piper PA-32R-301 registered N432LT, operated by West Valley Flying Club, was involved in an accident near Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 July 2012 at 00:46

Classification

Accident

Location

Fairbanks, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

65.4539, -147.5561

Aircraft

Piper PA-32R-301

Registration

N432LT

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

West Valley Flying Club

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Yukon → Fairbanks

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC12FA066

2 people died.

The noninstrument-rated pilot's decision to continue visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions likely leading to spatial disorientation, which resulted in a loss of airplane control and in-flight structural failure.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The noninstrument-rated pilot and one passenger were flying as part of a group of three airplanes on a sightseeing tour. The accident airplane and one of the other airplanes in the group encountered deteriorating weather and made an unplanned stop at an airport along their route of flight. After receiving fuel and updated enroute weather, both pilots decided to depart for their original destination. During the second attempt to fly to the destination airport, the two airplanes again encountered deteriorating weather conditions. The pilot of the accident airplane decided to maintain visual flight rules, and the pilot of the other airplane requested an instrument flight rules clearance to the destination airport. A short time later, the pilot of the accident airplane contacted air traffic control and stated that he was having difficulty maintaining visual conditions and subsequently requested an instrument clearance. The pilot reported climbing through 6,800 feet for 7,000 feet, then no further communications were received. The wreckage was located on a brush- and tundra-covered hillside; the left wing had separated from the airplane inflight, followed by the separation of other airplane components before impact. Given the reported weather, the pilot's lack of an instrument rating, his request for an instrument clearance, the wreckage path, and the lack of any mechanical anomalies, it is likely that the pilot encountered instrument meteorological conditions and became spatially disoriented while attempting to climb to a higher altitude. It is also likely that the pilot then lost control of the airplane, and entered a steep spiraling dive from which he was unable to recover. During the dive, the aerodynamic forces increased to the point that the left wing separated from the airplane, which tightened the spiral, and led to the in-flight structural failure of other sections of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.