Piper PA-28-180 accident near Clarkfield, MN
On August 5, 2003, a Piper PA-28-180 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Clarkfield, MN. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 5, 2003
- Place
- Clarkfield, MN
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-180 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 44.860°N, 95.793°W
- NTSB ID
- 20030812X01313
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 5, 2003, about 1645 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180, piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed on impact with terrain near Clarkfield, Minnesota. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual to instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed in the area. A visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was on file. The pilot was fatally injured. The flight departed from Karl Stefan Memorial Airport, near Norfolk, Nebraska, about 1430 and was enroute to Montevideo-Chippewa County Airport (MVE), near Montevideo, Minnesota at the time of the accident. A witness stated: That afternoon around 4:35 P.M. the airplane was heading north over my grass strip runway. The cloud cover was low 100' to 150'. Then the plane came around and flew right over my farm site. At that point the plane was in [and] out of the clouds, going in a northern direction. That's the last sound of that airplane I heard that day. A pilot stated: Enroute from Bismark, ND to Granite Falls, MN, I was on top at 11,000. After [receiving] a cruise clearance into Granite Falls I was IMC until I descended to 1000 ft above the ground. Conditions at Granite Falls were variable 1000 to 1200 at landing. There were a few jagged clouds passing through the area that may have been lower by a hundred feet. An agricultural spray pilot in the Benson, Minnesota, area delayed his takeoff because he thought the weather was too low. He stated: The weather just south of Monti Airport, I estimate just of few miles appeared to be IFR weather. It was much better at Montivedio and north.
Probable cause
The pilot not maintaining altitude/clearance from terrain and his continued VFR flight into IMC during cruise flight. A factor was the low ceilings.
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Browse: Minnesota · 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.
