Piper PA32R accident near Paducah, KY

On November 1, 2019, a Piper PA32R (airplane) was involved in an accident near Paducah, KY. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

November 1, 2019

Place

Paducah, KY

Aircraft

Piper PA32R · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

37.103°N, 88.817°W

NTSB ID

20191031X14200

Official records · ERA20FA026

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

Air traffic control records

• Air Traffic Control Memorandum For Record: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Air Traffic Control Radar Raw Data: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Air Traffic Control Package: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 31, 2019, at 1926 central daylight time, a Piper PA32R-301T, N181AG, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Paducah, Kentucky. The private pilot was fatally injured. The flight was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. A representative from the fixed base operator at the departure airport stated that the accident airplane arrived on October 27, 2019, and he serviced the airplane with 31 gallons of fuel, which filled the tanks. He further commented on the smoothness of the engine as the airplane approached the fuel pumps. In an interview at the accident site, the local air traffic controller said that he was familiar with the pilot and the accident airplane. He said that the pilot established contact on the tower frequency and he provided the pilot with the current altimeter, wind, and active runway information. The pilot informed him that he was "lined up" for a straight-in landing to runway 14 and requested that runway, which the controller approved. Radar data depicted the airplane in a steady descent aligned with runway 14. The controller advised the airplane was "cleared to land" which the pilot acknowledged. About 1.5 minutes later, the pilot advised, "I've lost power." The controller asked the pilot if he thought the airplane would reach the runway, and the pilot responded, "Yes." At that time, the airplane was about 1,000 ft above ground level (agl) and 4 miles from the landing threshold of the runway. Soon after, the pilot advised, "I'm not going to make it, I'm in the trees." There we

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to fully seat the fuel selector in the proper tank position during the descent for landing, which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power.

More accidents in KY

• Bombardier, Inc. CRJ-100, Aug 27, 2006
• Piper PA-31T2, Feb 17, 1982
• Cessna 401A, Aug 28, 2006
• Piper PA-32R-301T, Apr 3, 1988
• Piper PA-32R-301, Mar 22, 2004

Browse: Kentucky · Piper aircraft

See it on the map

Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.