Piper PA-32R-301 accident near Whitfield, AL
On September 13, 2007, a Piper PA-32R-301 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Whitfield, AL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 13, 2007
- Place
- Whitfield, AL
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-301 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 32.397°N, 88.077°W
- NTSB ID
- 20070927X01467
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 13, 2007, at 1620 central daylight time, a Piper PA-32R-301, N109PA, was destroyed during an in-flight breakup and subsequent collision with terrain near Whitfield, Alabama. The certificated commercial pilot was killed. The airplane departed Jack Edwards Airport (JKA), Gulf Shores, Alabama, at 1534, and was destined for Jonesboro Municipal Airport (JBR), Jonesboro, Arkansas. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the positioning flight conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. In an interview, the airplane's owner and his wife said they deplaned in Gulf Shores to visit their summer home. After a lengthy discussion with the pilot about weather, and several invitations to stay the night in Gulf Shores, the pilot elected to depart on the return flight to Jonesboro. According to the owner, he and the pilot agreed on a course that would take the airplane east to Pensacola, Florida, then north to Birmingham, Alabama, before turning northwest on course for Jonesboro, Arkansas, due to approaching storms from the west. Instead, radar data showed a northerly departure track for about 80 miles toward Birmingham, Alabama, before the target turned northwesterly on a direct track to Jonesboro, Arkansas. Communication data from the Meridian, Mississippi, air traffic control facility revealed the pilot contacted the facility, at 16:11:06, at 8,000 feet, and the controller issued an altimeter setting. At 16:11:19, the controller asked the pilot, "Are you wea
Probable cause
The pilot’s intentional flight into known thunderstorms.
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Browse: Alabama · 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.
