Piper PA 31P accident near Laredo, TX
On March 8, 2018, a Piper PA 31P (airplane) was involved in an accident near Laredo, TX. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 8, 2018
- Place
- Laredo, TX
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 31P · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 27.561°N, 99.457°W
- NTSB ID
- 20180308X30039
Official records · CEN18FA116
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Air Traffic Control Transcript: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
***This report was modified on October 21, 2019. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report.*** HISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 8, 2018, about 1038 central standard time, a Piper PA-31P twin-engine airplane, N82605, impacted terrain during an approach to the Laredo International Airport (LRD) Laredo, Texas. The pilot and student rated passenger were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual, as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions existed near the accident site about the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. Shortly after departing runway 18R, the tower controller contacted the pilot and reported that smoke was coming from the left side of the airplane. The pilot reported, "… we're gonna fix that." The airplane turned back toward the airport and was cleared to land on runway 18L. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane trailing smoke as it approached the airport. Two of the witnesses reported that the smoke came from the left engine. Several airport security cameras captured the accident airplane while airborne. A review of the video showed a trail of white smoke behind the airplane and showed that the landing gear was extended. While the airplane was on a left downwind leg for landing, the smoke trail was not visible. As the airplane turned left from base leg to final, its bank angle increased past 90 degrees. The airplane impacted terrain in a nose down, near-vertical attitude just shor
Probable cause
An engine malfunction for undetermined reasons and the subsequent loss of control, due to the pilot's improper decision to maneuver the airplane below minimum controllable airspeed and his improper response to the loss of engine power.
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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.
