Piper PA 46-310P accident near Harrisburg, OR

On April 7, 2017, a Piper PA 46-310P (airplane) was involved in an accident near Harrisburg, OR. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

April 7, 2017

Place

Harrisburg, OR

Aircraft

Piper PA 46-310P · Airplane

Injuries

4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

44.292°N, 123.182°W

NTSB ID

20170407X41612

Official records · WPR17FA085

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

Air traffic control records

• Communications Transcript EUG-ATCT: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Radio Communication: Document (WAV), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn April 7, 2017, about 1048 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-46-310P, N123SB, was destroyed when it impacted terrain near Harrisburg, Oregon, during an instrument approach to Mahlon Sweet Field Airport (EUG), Eugene, Oregon. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Park City Aviation, LLC under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which originated from Van Nuys Airport (VNY), Van Nuys, California, at 0727. Data from an onboard Appareo Stratus 2S indicated that the airplane took off from VNY at 0721:37 and leveled off at its cruise altitude of 14,200 ft GPS altitude on a generally direct route toward EUG. At 1019, the pilot began a descent consistent with arrival in the EUG terminal area. During the approach to EUG, the pilot was in radar contact with the Cascade Approach/Eugene Tower control facility. Review of air traffic control communications revealed that, at 1038:24, the controller instructed the pilot to descend to 4,000 ft mean sea level (msl) and to expect the ILS RWY16L approach. About two minutes later, the controller advised the pilot of an area of moderate to heavy precipitation at his 11-to-2'o-clock position. He asked the pilot to verify that he had received the current weather observation at the airport; the pilot confirmed that he had. Shortly thereafter, the pilot reported that the airplane was in heavy precipitation and requested

Probable cause

An encounter with a downburst during an instrument approach, which resulted in a loss of control at low altitude. Contributing to the accident was the air traffic controller's failure to solicit and disseminate pilot reports from arriving and departing aircraft in order to provide pilots with current and useful weather information near the airport.

More accidents in OR

• Cessna T207A, Aug 21, 1986
• Piper PA-28-180, Sep 1, 1984
• Piper PA-28RT-201, Mar 12, 1984
• Cessna 172, Jun 23, 2012
• Cessna 180, Jun 17, 2006

Browse: Oregon · 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.