Piper PA-32-260 accident near Brooklyn, IA
On December 18, 2003, a Piper PA-32-260 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Brooklyn, IA. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 18, 2003
- Place
- Brooklyn, IA
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-260 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 41.707°N, 92.462°W
- NTSB ID
- 20031222X02073
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 17, 2003, approximately 1830 central standard time, a Piper PA-32-260, N3733W, was destroyed when it impacted a cornfield about 1.5 miles southwest of Brooklyn, Iowa. The private pilot and three passengers received fatal injuries. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight departed Palwaukee Airport (PWK), Wheeling, Illinois, at 1640 en route to the Ankeny Regional Airport (IKV), Ankeny, Iowa. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was operating under visual flight rules (VFR), and no flight plan was filed. There was no record of the pilot contacting air traffic control facilities or Flight Service Stations while en route to IKV. The expected of time arrival at IKV was approximately 1900. When it became apparent that the flight did not arrive, authorities were notified and a search for the airplane was initiated. The accident site was discovered on December 18, 2003, at approximately 0930. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot was a private pilot with a single engine land rating. He did not have an instrument rating. He held a Third Class medical certificate. He had a total of 583 hours of flight time with 103 hours in make and model. The pilot's logbook indicated that he flew 0.5 hours of night time on November 17, 2003, and he recorded 3 landings to a full stop. The pilot's previous night flight was logged on March 18, 2003, which was 0.6 hours in length. The pilot had logged 12 hours of flight time in the last 30 days. The pilot had completed a flight review on March 7, 2003. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The a
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate planning/decision resulting in VFR flight into IMC, and his failure to maintain terrain clearance resulting in in-flight collision with terrain. Contributing factors to the accident were the pilot's lack of an instrument rating, his lack of recent night flying experience, the dark night, and the low ceilings.
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Browse: Iowa · 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.
