Piper PA-30 accident near Amarillo, TX
On July 25, 2013, a Piper PA-30 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Amarillo, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- July 25, 2013
- Place
- Amarillo, TX
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-30 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 35.191°N, 101.823°W
- NTSB ID
- 20130725X10529
Official records · CEN13FA432
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- NTSB ATC Group Chairman Factual Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 25, 2013 at 0900 central daylight time, a Piper PA-30 twin-engine airplane, N8306Y, privately registered airplane was substantially damaged when it crashed into a residential area while attempting to return to the Amarillo Tradewind Airport (TDW), Amarillo, Texas, after the loss of power to the left engine. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. The flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions and dissipating thunderstorm activity prevailed in the vicinity. The flight originated at 0855 from TDW and its intended destination was Lubbock, Texas. After takeoff from Runway 17 at TDW, the pilot contacted Amarillo Approach for VFR flight following. The pilot radioed that he was having problems with the airplane's left engine and that he was going to return to the airport. The controller asked if he wanted to declare an emergency and the pilot responded that he had the airport in sight and the left engine stopped. The controller followed the airplane on radar until it disappeared from the radar screen. The airplane impacted nose down into the yard of a home within a dense populated residential area. There were no ground injuries. An TDW security camera video showed the aircraft returning to the airport at a very slow speed, then the aircraft turned sharply to the left and rapidly descended below the trees. The video resolution was poor. A single witnesses (who was a local pilot) reported that he saw the airplane turning and stated to investigators that
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control after a loss of left engine power due to water-contaminated fuel. Contributing to the accident was the lack of a proper preflight that could have detected water accumulation in the fuel system before takeoff.
More accidents in TX
- Kubicek BB85, Jul 30, 2016
- Robertson C-414, Jul 29, 1982
- Textron Aviation B-300, Jun 30, 2019
- Beech B100, Nov 26, 1983
- Consolidated-Vultee PBY-6A, Oct 13, 1984
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.
