Piper PA 18 N3298Z

Summary

On 19 January 2019 at about 18:35 local time, a Piper PA 18 registered N3298Z was involved in an accident near Iron Mountain, Michigan, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 January 2019 at 18:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Iron Mountain, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

45.8300, -87.9800

Aircraft

Piper PA 18

Registration

N3298Z

Category

Airplane

Year built

1959

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Iron Mountain Kingsford → Iron Mountain Kingsford

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19CA062

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's distraction and subsequent loss of situational awareness and visual horizon in overcast sky conditions, which led to an unrecognized descent during a low-level maneuver and subsequent impact with snow-covered terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

On January 19, 2019, about 1315 central standard time, a Piper PA-28 airplane, N3298Z, impacted terrain near Iron Mountain, Michigan. The airline transport-rated pilot sustained minor injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight that originated at Ford Airport, Iron Mountain, Michigan. The pilot reported that he had conducted an uneventful sight-seeing flight and intended to return to the departure airport. He initiated a left turn about 800 ft above a lake and became distracted while focusing on a distant point across the frozen and snow-covered lake. The pilot added that he lost reference to the horizon while continuing in a descending left turn until ground impact. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The departure airport's automated surface observation system, located 6 miles west of the accident site, reported that, about 20 minutes before the accident, winds were from 020º at 5 knots, 10 miles visibility, ceiling overcast at 3,500 ft, temperature -11ºC, dew point -18ºC, and altimeter setting of 30.19 inches of mercury.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.