Piper PA-32-260 accident near Bryan, TX
On December 20, 2011, a Piper PA-32-260 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Bryan, TX. 5 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 20, 2011
- Place
- Bryan, TX
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-260 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 5 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 30.947°N, 96.269°W
- NTSB ID
- 20111219X15943
Official records · CEN12FA108
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 19, 2011, about 2144 Central Standard Time, a Piper PA-32-260, N3590T, impacted terrain following an in-flight breakup near Bryan, Texas. The instrument rated private pilot and four passengers were fatally injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was on file. The cross-country flight had originated from the Clayton County Airport (4A7), Hampton, Georgia, approximately 1345. After a planed fuel stop at the Jackson-Evers International Airport (JAN), Jackson, Mississippi, the flight departed about 1750 for the TSTC Waco Airport (CNW), Waco, Texas. At 2119, the pilot contacted Houston Intercontinental Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) and reported he was “level at eight thousand [feet mean sea level]”. The controller for Houston TRACON acknowledged and told the pilot that his present heading was good for about 40 miles, at which he should make a right turn “towards t-s-t-c (CNW).” The pilot responded, “Okay … I was looking at my nexrad, is up ahead … [and considering] taking about a two-five-zero heading for a little while, that be all right?” The controller told the pilot, “that two-fifty will put you in some moderate to heavy precip … from what I am showing right now”. The controller then said, “… you’re looking good right now till about twenty miles north of College [Station] then you can start
Probable cause
The pilot’s inadvertent encounter with severe weather, which resulted in the airplane’s left wing failing in positive overload. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s reliance on outdated weather information that he received on his in-cockpit Next-Generation Radar (NEXRAD).
More accidents in TX
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Browse: Texas · 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.
