Piper PA28 accident near Austin, PA

On October 16, 2016, a Piper PA28 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Austin, PA. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

October 16, 2016

Place

Austin, PA

Aircraft

Piper PA28 · Airplane

Injuries

3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

41.700°N, 78.181°W

NTSB ID

20161017X65629

Official records · ERA17FA017

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

Air traffic control records

• ATC 3 - Chronological Summary of Flight Communications and Transcription of Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 16, 2016, about 1957 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-161, Canadian registration C-GYSN, collided with trees and terrain near Austin, Pennsylvania. The commercial pilot and two passengers were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was owned and operated by St. Catharines Flying Club under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which originated from Richmond International Airport (RIC), Richmond, Virginia, about 1654, and was destined for St. Catharines/Niagara District Airport (CYSN), St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The accident pilot and the pilots of four other airplanes operated by the flying club flew into the United States (US) on October 12. While in the US, they visited several states, including New York, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia. One airplane returned to CYSN on October 15. Earlier on the day of the accident, the accident pilot and the pilots of two of the other airplanes departed Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR), Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and flew to RIC. Before departing from RIC, the pilot of one of the other airplanes spoke with the accident pilot. During that conversation, the accident pilot did not express any concern for the weather. The pilots decided that the accident pilot would depart after the other pilot, and the two pilots would remain in communication about the weather via radio. If the other airplane encounter

Probable cause

The pilot's loss of control while maneuvering in night instrument conditions that included light-to-heavy rain with severe turbulence, updrafts and downdrafts, and hail. Contributing to the accident was the pilot experiencing spatial disorientation, his lack of flight experience in actual instrument conditions, and his failure to request weather avoidance assistance from air traffic control.

More accidents in PA

• Boeing B-737-300, Sep 8, 1994
• Boeing 757, Sep 11, 2001
• British Aerospace J-3101, May 21, 2000
• Bell UH-1N, May 29, 2008
• Beech A36, Jul 30, 1989

Browse: Pennsylvania · 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.