Piper PA28R accident near Auburn Township, OH
On May 28, 2019, a Piper PA28R (airplane) was involved in an accident near Auburn Township, OH. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 28, 2019
- Place
- Auburn Township, OH
- Aircraft
- Piper PA28R · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.375°N, 81.193°W
- NTSB ID
- 20190529X03317
Official records · ERA19FA181
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 28, 2019, at 2355 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-180, N3933T, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Auburn Township, Ohio. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot departed Cincinnati Lunken Airport (LUK), Cincinnati, Ohio, about 2209, and was destined for Geauga County Airport (7G8), Middlefield, Ohio. The pilot was not communicating with air traffic control and there were no recorded communications with the airplane during the flight. A review of radar data revealed that the airplane was flying directly toward 7G8 on a northeasterly heading. At 2354:41, when the airplane was about 9.6 nautical miles from the airport at an altitude of 2,525 ft mean sea level (msl) and a groundspeed of 136 knots (kts), it made a left turn to the north-northwest and proceeded toward the LaDue Reservoir. As the airplane reached the southeast bank of the reservoir at 2355:21, it was at an altitude of 2,300 ft msl and a groundspeed of 129 kts. The airplane then entered a steep, descending right turn before the data ended at 2355:31. At that time, the airplane's heading was 104° at an altitude of 1,300 ft msl and a groundspeed of 169 kts. According to the pilot's girlfriend, she and her daughter had been camping with the pilot in Kentucky during the days before the accident. The girlfriend said that she drove home (near 7G8) and the pilot flew her daughter to LUK so that she could then take a commercial flight from the major airport in Cincinnati.
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of control due to spatial disorientation in dark night conditions. Contributing to the accident was his inadequate weather planning, lack of experience flying at night and the deteriorating weather conditions.
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Browse: Ohio · 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.
