Piper PA-28-160 accident near Tacna, AZ

On November 23, 2012, a Piper PA-28-160 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Tacna, AZ. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

November 23, 2012

Place

Tacna, AZ

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-160 · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

32.338°N, 113.664°W

NTSB ID

20121128X43813

Official records · WPR13FA058

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

Air traffic control records

• ATC 3 - Attachment 1 - ATC Mandatory Occurence Report (MOR) TUS-M-2012/11/23-0001: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC 3 - Attachment 2 - Daily Record of ATC Facility Operation for Tucson ATCT 11-23-2012: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC 3 - ATC Specialist's Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn November 23, 2012, at an undetermined time, a Piper PA28-160, N5076W, impacted desert terrain 30 miles south of Tacna, Arizona. The owner/pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot was fatally injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal flight departed Tucson International Airport (TUS), Tucson, Arizona, at 0957, with an unknown destination. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. On November 28, 2012, a US Customs and Border Patrol agent came across the aircraft accident site of a PA-28-160, N5076W. The accident site, located at 32 20 17.7N/-113 39 48.96W, was 28 miles south of highway 8, located inside the restricted area R-2301W and approximately 160 miles west of TUS. The pilot's husband reported that he had received a voicemail from her. He stated that she appeared to be "acting paranoid," stating she was going to take the airplane flying to get away from "them." Fueling records at Atlantic Aviation-Tucson established that the airplane was last fueled on November 23, 2012, with the addition of 15.1 gallons of 100LL-octane aviation fuel. At the pilot's request, the service technician also added air to the nose wheel tire. Afterwards he watched as the pilot taxied out, took off using taxiway "D," and flew southbound. According to FAA Mandatory Occurrence Report (MOR) TUS-M-2012/11/23-001, an unidentified Piper PA-28 aircraft departed the Tucson International Airport (TUS), Tucson, Arizona, from taxiway D at 0957/175

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s impairment due to acute psychosis with paranoid thoughts.

More accidents in AZ

• De Havilland DHC-6-300, Sep 27, 1989
• Cessna 402C, Jun 19, 1992
• Piper PA-31-350, Aug 17, 1983
• Piper PA-31-350, Feb 13, 1995
• Cessna 421C, Sep 2, 1995

Browse: Arizona · 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.