Piper PA 46-350P N451MA

Summary

On 16 April 2024 at about 17:05 local time, a Piper PA 46-350P registered N451MA, operated by Upward Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Hartsburg, Missouri, 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

16 April 2024 at 17:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Hartsburg, Missouri, United States

Coordinates

38.7166, -92.3016

Aircraft

Piper PA 46-350P

Registration

N451MA

Category

Airplane

Year built

2012

Engines

1

Operator

Upward Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Madison → Siloam Springs

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN24FA160

1 person died.

The pilot’s encounter with convective weather conditions, which resulted in a loss of airplane control, the exceedance of the airplane’s never exceed speed, and the resulting overload failure of the horizontal stabilizer and subsequent failure of the airplane’s wings.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was on an instrument flight rules flight and air traffic control (ATC) provided the pilot with vector guidance to avoid an active military operations area (MOA). The controller informed the pilot that he would only be able to deviate to the left of his course due to the active MOA. At that time, the airplane was in an area of developing convective weather activity and likely in instrument meteorological conditions. The pilot reported to ATC that he encountered freezing rain. ATC communications revealed that the pilot requested to deviate to the left of his course due to weather, including mention of encountering freezing rain, which ATC approved. Flight track data showed the airplane entered a descending left turn. A performance study based on the aircraft track data showed that, during the turn, the airplane’s roll angle reached 70°, the pitch angle reached -17° and then -34°, and the calibrated airspeed exceeded both the airplane's published never exceed speed (VNE), and its maximum operating maneuvering speed (VO). During the turn, the airplane’s structure broke apart, and wreckage was distributed along a 3-mile path. The flight path depicted in the flight track data was consistent with a loss of airplane control. Postaccident examination of the airplane confirmed that the horizontal stabilizer and the wings failed in a downward direction. A failure of the airplane’s horizontal stabilizer would result in the airplane pitching forward and a high negative load to the wings. The examination noted that all identified failures in the airplane structure had signatures consistent with overload failure. Examination of the airplane’s flight control system did not reveal any preexisting anomalies. The cockpit avionics could not be tested due to impact damage. Based on the available data, the pilot encountered forecast adverse weather associated with convective activity. The pilot noted to ATC that he encountered freezing rain, however, the quantity of ice accumulation and its effect on the flight could not be determined. While attempting to deviate from his flight path to avoid this weather, airplane control was lost and it entered a steep descending turn. During the turn, the airplane’s speed exceeded its published never exceed speed, which resulted in overload failure of the horizontal stabilizer and subsequent failure of the airplane’s wings.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.