Piper PA-28-180 N2801T

Summary

On 14 July 2021 at about 17:38 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N2801T, operated by GOD Speed Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Muscatine, Iowa, 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

14 July 2021 at 17:38

Classification

Accident

Location

Muscatine, Iowa, United States

Coordinates

41.4933, -91.0497

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N2801T

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Engines

1

Operator

GOD Speed Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Iron Mountain → Nevada

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21FA320

2 people died.

The noninstrument-rated pilot’s continued visual flight under a thunderstorm, where he encountered reduced visibility due to heavy precipitation, resulting in a loss of control due to spatial disorientation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The noninstrument-rated pilot departed on a visual flight rules cross-country flight. Flight track data indicated that the airplane proceeded direct toward its destination until about 1 hour after departure, when it began a series of course and altitude changes, likely due to an encounter with adverse weather conditions. Just before the accident, the airplane entered a descending right turn, during which its descent rate increased and turn radius decreased, and the airplane impacted the ground in the vicinity of the final returns. The airplane impacted a farm field, and the wreckage was distributed in a fan-shaped pattern about 400 ft in length. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A Convective SIGMET, which advised of severe thunderstorms and hail, was valid for the time of the accident at the accident location. Weather radar confirmed the presence of thunderstorms, severe precipitation, and 0.85-inch hail in the area of the accident site at the time of the accident. The aviation area forecast discussion described these storms as bringing marginal VFR conditions with IFR conditions in some of the heavier storms. Toxicology testing revealed the pilot’s use of multiple potentially impairing drugs; however, no active substances were found in the pilot’s blood following the accident. Therefore, it is unlikely that effects from the pilot’s use of these substances contributed to the accident. The airplane’s turning, descending flight track just before the accident is consistent with the known effects of spatial disorientation. It is likely that the pilot’s decision to fly directly under a thunderstorm resulted in an encounter with heavy precipitation and reduced visibility conditions, which subsequently resulted in the pilot’s spatial disorientation and a subsequent loss of airplane control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.