Piper PA 28-181 accident near Rock Lake, ND
On December 1, 2013, a Piper PA 28-181 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Rock Lake, ND. 3 people were seriously injured. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 1, 2013
- Place
- Rock Lake, ND
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 28-181 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 0 fatal, 3 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 48.520°N, 99.120°W
- NTSB ID
- 20131203X82831
Official records · CEN14LA074
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On November 30, 2013, about 1840 central standard time, a Piper PA-28-181, N6780F, impacted terrain near Rock Lake, North Dakota. The non-instrument rated private pilot and two passengers were seriously injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulation Part 91 personal flight. Night instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed for the cross country flight which operated without a flight plan. The flight originated from Falls International Airport (INL), International Falls, Minnesota, at 1635, and was destined for Bottineau Municipal Airport (D09), Bottineau, North Dakota. The pilot obtained a computerized weather briefing at 0914 on the morning of the accident, but did not obtain any additional weather information before he departed Minnesota. At the time he took off, the weather was marginal visual meteorological conditions and IMC conditions were forecasted along the route of flight. The conditions were also conducive to icing. The pilot said that as he approached Rolla, North Dakota (about 2 hours into the flight), he entered IMC conditions and the "ground just disappeared." It was dark, so he used a flashlight to look out on to the wing where he saw "frost" building up on the gas cap. The pilot said "things got bad" and he was unable to maintain altitude. The pilot added power, maintained a safe airspeed (between 76-80 knots), and kept the wings level as the airplane continued to descend. He said he never saw the trees or ground before the impact. The airplane came to
Probable cause
The noninstrument-rated pilot’s failure to obtain weather briefings immediately before and during the flight and his continued flight into icing conditions, which resulted in the airplane’s loss of performance and the subsequent controlled descent into trees and terrain.
More accidents in ND
- Cessna 401A, Feb 24, 1994
- Piper PA-24-250, Oct 22, 1986
- Cessna 441, Nov 18, 2018
- Piper PA 28-140, Jun 9, 2016
- Beech V35B, Jul 31, 1992
Browse: North Dakota · 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.
