Piper PA-28-181 accident near Bradley, SC
On January 7, 2005, a Piper PA-28-181 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Bradley, SC. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- January 7, 2005
- Place
- Bradley, SC
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 34.059°N, 82.243°W
- NTSB ID
- 20050111X00035
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On January 7, 2005, at 1856 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-181, N2823H, registered to pending applicant Cherokee One, LLC, and operated by the private pilot, collided with trees and the ground in Bradley, South Carolina. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The private pilot and the three passengers received fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The flight departed McCormick County Airport (S19), McCormick, South Carolina, at an undetermined time on January 7, 2005. According to flight service station records, the pilot telephoned the Anderson, South Carolina, automated flight service station (AFSS) for a weather briefing at 1739 and requested a standard weather briefing for a 1-hour-15-minute flight from S19 to Marlboro County Jetport (BBP), Bennettsville, South Carolina, with an estimated departure time of 2000. The pilot also requested wind information for 3,000 and 6,000 feet. The briefer told the pilot that the satellite imagery was showing cloud cover over the entire route. The briefer stated that the current reported conditions at Greenwood County Airport (GRD), South Carolina, were visibility 10 statute miles with overcast clouds at 3,800 feet, and at Columbia, South Carolina, ceilings were broken at 4,000 feet. The briefer stated that the forecast for Columbia was ceilings broken at 2,000 feet, and, by 2100, conditions at Florence, South Carolina, were forecast to include clouds at 2,000 feet with mist, and that condition
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of control of the airplane due to spatial disorientation, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent and collision with trees and the ground. A factor was the dark night conditions.
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Browse: South Carolina · 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.
