Piper PA-38-112 accident near Smithfield, RI

On November 17, 2008, a Piper PA-38-112 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Smithfield, RI. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

November 17, 2008

Place

Smithfield, RI

Aircraft

Piper PA-38-112 · Airplane

Injuries

2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

41.906°N, 71.486°W

NTSB ID

20081117X94058

Official records · ERA09FA060

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• Flight Service Station Transcript: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Providence Air Traffic Control Communications and Radar Files: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC Transcript (Partial): Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• 911 Transcript: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On November 17, 2008, about 1703 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-38, N2316P, was substantially damaged during a practice global positioning system (GPS) approach to North Central State Airport (SFZ), Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The certificated private pilot and his pilot rated passenger were killed. The flight originated from Theodore Francis Green State Airport (PVD), Providence, Rhode Island, at 1654. The personal flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to fuel receipts from a fixed based operator (FBO) located at PVD, the airplane was fueled with 12.3 gallons of aviation gasoline on the morning of the accident. According to Lockheed Martin flight service station records, the pilot telephoned the Raleigh, North Carolina, automated flight service station for a weather briefing at 1626 and requested an instrument flight rules (IFR) weather briefing for a one to one and one-half hour flight in order to practice instrument approaches and remain within approximately 15 nautical miles of PVD. At the time of the weather briefing he was unsure of which airports he was going to practice the approaches at. Radar contact was lost with the accident airplane about 1702. The last recorded radar target was about 2/3 of a mile south of SFZ, at 500 feet mean sea level (msl), approximately 80 feet above ground level (agl), and a ground speed of 82 knots. Starting at 1703:12 the Rhode Island Enhanced 9-1-1 Uniform Emergency Telephone System began receiving p

Probable cause

The pilot's improper descent below the published minimum descent altitude during the approach, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

More accidents in RI

• Piper PA-28R-200, Jul 5, 2006
• Piper PA-32R-301, Sep 3, 2000
• Piper PA-28-161, Jul 3, 2008
• Cessna 180, Nov 16, 2003
• Beech A-36, Apr 28, 2001

Browse: Rhode Island · Piper aircraft

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.