Piper PA46 accident near Mayport, FL

On December 20, 2018, a Piper PA46 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Mayport, FL. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

December 20, 2018

Place

Mayport, FL

Aircraft

Piper PA46 · Airplane

Injuries

2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

30.401°N, 81.384°W

NTSB ID

20181220X03836

Official records · ERA19LA072

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

Air traffic control records

• FAA Chronological Summary Of Flight Communications: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• NTSB Prepared Partial Transcription Of Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 20, 2018, about 0904 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-46-350P, N307JM, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Mayport, Florida. The private pilot and pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control and radar information, after takeoff, the pilot established contact with Orlando Approach and remained in contact with that facility for about 17 minutes before it was transitioned to Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZJX ARTCC). The pilot was incrementally cleared to climb to 19,000 ft, where he leveled the airplane for about 5 minutes before being cleared to climb to 23,000 ft msl. About 0859, the controller informed the pilot of “…moderate and some heavy precipitation extending along your route of flight for the next two zero zero miles.” One of the pilots acknowledged and advised that they would be watching the weather. Review of weather radar information indicated that, about 0859, the airplane was located in an area of light to moderate echoes of 20 to 30 decibels (dBZ). Data from the onboard portable GPS receiver revealed slight deviations of the airplane’s flightpath about this time, but the airplane continued in a northerly direction. About 0902, the controller broadcast on the frequency that AIRMETs Tango and Zulu (for turbulence and icing, respectively) were available. About this time, while flying within an area of base reflectivity returns of 10 to 30

Probable cause

An in-flight loss of control following an encounter with supercooled large droplet icing conditions, which ultimately resulted in an uncontrolled descent and subsequent inflight breakup. Also causal was the pilot’s failure to maintain an appropriate airspeed for flight in icing conditions.

More accidents in FL

• Grumman G-73T, Dec 19, 2005
• Beech B90, Jan 5, 1994
• Beech B-90, Sep 3, 1999
• Cessna 182B, Feb 7, 1982
• Pilatus Aircraft Ltd PC-12/47, Jun 7, 2012

Browse: Florida · 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.