Piper PA-28R-180 N11ML

Summary

On 18 October 2013 at about 14:08 local time, a Piper PA-28R-180 registered N11ML, operated by Michael Leadlay, was involved in an accident near Tifton, Georgia, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 October 2013 at 14:08

Classification

Accident

Location

Tifton, Georgia, United States

Coordinates

31.5722, -83.6053

Aircraft

Piper PA-28R-180

Registration

N11ML

Category

Airplane

Year built

1968

Engines

1

Operator

Michael Leadlay

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Merritt Island → LaGrange

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14FA002

1 person died.

The noninstrument-rated pilot’s improper decision to continue visual flight rules flight into known instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and a loss of airplane control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

About 2 hours into the 3-hour flight, an air traffic controller advised the noninstrument-rated pilot of an area of heavy and moderate precipitation extending from the airplane's 10- to 2-o'clock positions and 14 miles ahead. The pilot acknowledged the information and stated that he was going to try to fly around it. No further communications were received from the accident pilot. Radar data were consistent with a right, descending spiral to the ground in an area of very light precipitation. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot had accumulated 163 total flight hours, 1.7 hours of which were logged as simulated instrument experience. He had no documented actual instrument experience. No evidence was found indicating that the plot obtained a weather briefing before the flight. Although toxicological testing revealed low levels of ethanol in the kidney and liver, the levels may have been from postmortem production, and the absence of vitreous, blood, or urine samples limited the interpretation. Similarly, although diphenhydramine, a sedating antihistamine, was present in the liver and muscle, without appropriate specimens, the investigation could not determine if it was impairing at the time of the accident. Given the presence of instrument meteorological conditions, including both degraded visibility and precipitation, and the pilot's lack of an instrument rating, the pilot likely experienced spatial disorientation. Further, the circumstances of the accident, including the high descent rate over a confined area and the spiral descent are consistent with the presence of spatial disorientation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.