Piper PA-32-300 accident near Delight, AR
On August 6, 1993, a Piper PA-32-300 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Delight, AR. 6 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 6, 1993
- Place
- Delight, AR
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 6 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 34.020°N, 93.500°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X13129
Official records · DEN93FA099
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Reports from Federal Agencies - ATC Transcript: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 6, 1993, at approximately 1140 central daylight time, a Piper PA-32-300, N479KC, was destroyed when it broke up in flight and impacted terrain about seven miles southeast of Delight, Arkansas. The pilot and five passengers were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the site: however, the airplane was in instrument meteorological conditions when contact was lost. An IFR flight plan had been filed. The pilot contacted the McAlester (OK) Flight Service Station via radio at 0924 while in flight and, after receiving a briefing on weather conditions in the Texarkana, Arkansas area, filed an IFR flight plan. At 1035, he requested clearance from the Fort Worth Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) to descend from 5,000 feet to 4,000 feet "to see if we can make a visual approach into Nashville, Arkansas." The controller said this was not possible due to the minimum vectoring altitudes (MVA) in the area, but cleared him to "cruise" to the Nashville Airport at 5,000 feet. At 1047, after reporting he was still in the clouds and could not see the airport, the pilot was given radar vectors to intercept the localizer course at Texarkana Airport, and was cleared to descend to 2,100 feet. At 1059 the pilot asked, "Can we go ahead and go on our own and get back to Nashville now and go through the clouds. I see a shot where we can make it." He then cancelled his IFR flight plan and radar services were terminated. At 1110, the pilot reported back on the Fort Worth ARTCC frequency and said, "We've lost our vacuum. We're in the clouds. We'r
Probable cause
THE FAILURE OF THE VACUUM PUMP, AND AN INOPERATIVE TURN COORDINATOR. FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE PILOT'S LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE AS A RESULT OF SPATIAL DISORIENTATION, THE PILOT EXCEEDING THE DESIGN STRESS LIMITS OF THE AIRPLANE, AND THE WEATHER CONDITIONS (CLOUDS).
More accidents in AR
- Beech 65-A80, May 16, 2005
- Cessna 208B, Apr 28, 2001
- Piper PA-23-250, Nov 17, 2002
- Grumman G1159, Jan 19, 1990
- Piper PA-31-350, May 8, 2005
Browse: Arkansas · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
