Piper PA-28-235 accident near Buffalo, WY
On October 19, 1998, a Piper PA-28-235 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Buffalo, WY. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- October 19, 1998
- Place
- Buffalo, WY
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-235 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 44.340°N, 106.710°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X11233
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On October 18, 1998, approximately 1850 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-28-235, N8537N, was destroyed following impact with terrain while in cruise flight near Buffalo, Wyoming. The non-instrument rated private pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was owned/operated by the Cherokee Aero Club of Pierre, South Dakota, under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the night cross-country personal flight which originated from Mobridge, South Dakota, approximately 2 hours 35 minutes before the accident. A VFR flight plan had been filed with Billings, Montana, as the destination. All times are in mountain daylight time, unless otherwise noted. According to FAA documents, the pilot telephoned Huron Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), at approximately 1300, for a weather briefing in preparation for his flight from Pierre to Mobridge, and then on to Billings, Montana. The FAA documents indicate that the pilot was given a full briefing which included all NOTAMs for his route of flight. The pilot did ask the briefer if there was any flight activity in the northern half of the Powder River Military Operations Area (MOA), which he was planning to fly through, and was told that "there was nothing at this time." FAA records further indicate that the pilot called Huron AFSS again at 1512 and filed a VFR flight plan from Mobridge, South Dakota, direct to Billings, Montana. The flight plan indicated that he would be flying at an altitude of 6,500 feet, at 135 knots, and his planned time en route was 3.5 hours (s
Probable cause
The non-instrument rated pilot's initiated flight into adverse weather conditions and inadvertently flew into IMC weather conditions. Factors were the low ceiling weather conditions, the dark night light conditions, and a non operating VOR navigational aid.
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Browse: Wyoming · 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.
