Piper PA-32-260 accident near St. Ignace, MI
On December 4, 2011, a Piper PA-32-260 (airplane) was involved in an accident near St. Ignace, MI. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 4, 2011
- Place
- St. Ignace, MI
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-260 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 44.923°N, 84.725°W
- NTSB ID
- 20111204X50348
Official records · CEN12FA097
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 3, 2011, about 2010 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-32-260, N33315, operated by Great Lakes Air (GLA) collided with trees and the terrain in St. Ignace, Michigan. The commercial rated pilot and a private-rated pilot passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was substantially damaged from impact forces. The non-scheduled domestic passenger flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane departed from the Mackinac County Airport (83D), St. Ignace, Michigan, at an estimated time of around 1950 with an intended destination of the Mackinac Island Airport (MCD), Mackinac Island, Michigan. The passenger contacted another company pilot on the night prior to the accident stating that he was traveling to St. Ignace the following day and he was going to need air transportation to Mackinac Island. The passenger also stated that he needed to be in Gaylord, Michigan on December 4th for a morning meeting. This pilot instructed the passenger to call the airport to schedule the flight. The other company pilot stated that around noon on the day of the accident, he looked at the flight schedule and noticed that there were no flights scheduled for the day. He stated that he knew they would not be flying that day because of the poor weather, and that the accident pilot seemed relieved that he was not going to have to fly to the island that evening. This pilot stated that he then called the passenger and left a voice message stati
Probable cause
The pilot’s decision to initiate visual flight in instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent failure to maintain adequate altitude.
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Browse: Michigan · 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.
