Piper PA-28-180 N40781

Summary

On 21 November 2012 at about 23:20 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N40781, operated by Clarence J Avery, was involved in an accident near Hillsdale, Michigan, 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

21 November 2012 at 23:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Hillsdale, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Hillsdale Minucipal Airport (JYM)

Coordinates

41.9172, -84.5592

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N40781

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Clarence J Avery

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lebanon → Hillsdale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN13FA067

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from terrain during a straight-in night visual flight rules approach to land in hazy weather conditions. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's lack of recent night flying experience, the nonfunctional precision approach path indicator system on the selected runway, and the inaccurate Kollsman setting in the altimeter.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After a 1.5-hour uneventful night visual flight rules cross-country flight and about 18 miles from the destination airport, the pilot contacted the airport UNICOM and requested that the runway lights be turned on. Subsequently, the airport manager who was monitoring the UNICOM frequency turned on the runway lights. The airplane did not land, and no distress calls from the pilot were reported. The wreckage was found 1.25 miles east of the approach end of the runway. Examination of the wreckage indicated that the airplane struck the trees in a shallow descent. The airport manager and another pilot reported that hazy conditions existed about the time of the accident. No mechanical anomalies were discovered with the airframe or engine. The pilot only had 16.4 hours of night flight time, and his most recent logged night flight time was about 10 years before the accident flight. Family members stated that the pilot did not like to fly at night. The selected runway's precision approach path indicator (PAPI) system was not functional. An experienced pilot who landed his airplane at the airport shortly before the accident reported that he chose to land on another runway after circling the airport and noting that the PAPI was nonfunctional because it was dark on that side of the airport. Examination of the altimeter at the accident site showed that 30.38 inches of Mercury (inHg) was set in the instrument's Kollsman window; however, the area barometric pressure at the time of the accident was 30.17 inHg. The altimeter was bench tested and found to be functional. The inaccurate Kollsman setting would have shown a higher indicated altitude on the altimeter in relation to the airplane's actual altitude over terrain. Thus, the pilot likely thought that he was flying at a higher altitude if he was relying solely on the altimeter instead of on outside visual references during the approach. The combination of the pilot's lack of night flying time, the nonfunctional PAPI system, and the inaccurate altimeter setting all contributed to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.