Piper PA 28-180 N57312

Summary

On 13 October 2015 at about 21:33 local time, a Piper PA 28-180 registered N57312 was involved in an accident near Lake Worth, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and one died. One person on the ground also died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 October 2015 at 21:33

Classification

Accident

Location

Lake Worth, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Palm Beach County Park (LNA)

Coordinates

26.6164, -80.0950

Aircraft

Piper PA 28-180

Registration

N57312

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kissimmee → Lantana

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16FA012

1 person died, including 1 on the ground.

A loss of control for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. The pilot utilized the destination airport's common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) to report that he was 3 miles east of the airport and that he planned to enter a midfield left downwind leg for the runway. He then reported on that he was turning a left base leg for the runway. No further communications were received from the pilot. A radar plot showed the airplane flying past the runway centerline and then making an S-turn before radar contact was lost. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot's autopsy revealed that he had significant heart disease with enlargement and wall thickening. He also had diffuse coronary artery disease with 75 percent stenosis of the left anterior descending and right coronary arteries and 25 percent stenosis of the left main and left circumflex coronary arteries. There was also mild calcification of the mitral valve leaflets. The pilot's coronary artery disease put him at a high risk for acute ischemia, which can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, or decreased blood pressure. He was also at increased risk for an arrhythmia, which can result in loss of consciousness. None of these events would leave visible evidence at autopsy. Given the circumstances of the accident and the pilot's cardiac conditions, it is possible that he became acutely impaired or incapacitated by symptoms from his cardiac disease and that this could have resulted in the loss of aircraft control. However, given the limited available information, it could not be determined whether the loss of control was the result of incapacitation or if there was another reason that the aircraft departed controlled flight and the pilot was unable to regain control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.