Piper PA32RT accident near Poolville, TX
On October 12, 2018, a Piper PA32RT (airplane) was involved in an accident near Poolville, TX. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- October 12, 2018
- Place
- Poolville, TX
- Aircraft
- Piper PA32RT · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 32.969°N, 97.879°W
- NTSB ID
- 20181013X10104
Official records · CEN19FA004
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 12, 2018, about 1608 central daylight time (CDT), a Piper PA-32RT-300, N221MC, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Poolville, Texas. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Marginal visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight. The flight originated from the Sierra Blanca Regional Airport (SRR), Ruidoso, New Mexico, about 1325 CDT and was destined for Hicks Airfield (T67), Fort Worth, Texas. Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and GPS data from the airplane's Garmin 696 GPS receiver showed that the airplane was on a straight ground track and at a cruise altitude between about 8,500 and 9,500 ft mean sea level (msl) for most of the flight. About 1605 the airplane began descending from 9,000 ft msl. During the next 2 minutes, the airplane remained on a straight ground track at an average descent rate of 700 ft per minute. The airplane then entered a descending right turn with a decreasing radius, as shown in the figure; the radius of the turn was initially about 4,000 ft, which decreased during the next minute to about 1,000 ft in the final 1 second of data. Also, as the airplane continued to turn, the descent rate increased; the average rate of descent for the final 10 seconds of the recorded ADS-B data was about 12,900 ft per minute. The final recorded ADS-B data point was located about 900 ft west of the main wreckage location at an altitude of 4,350
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of airplane control as a result of spatial disorientation and the exceedance of the structural capabilities of the airplane. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's limited experience in instrument conditions.
More accidents in TX
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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.
