Piper PA 31T accident near Lafayette, LA
On December 28, 2019, a Piper PA 31T (airplane) was involved in an accident near Lafayette, LA. 5 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 28, 2019
- Place
- Lafayette, LA
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 31T · Airplane
- Injuries
- 5 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 30.176°N, 92.007°W
- NTSB ID
- 20191228X23853
Official records · CEN20MA044
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
- Investigation page: status, final report and safety recommendations
Air traffic control records
- ATC Specialist's Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC Specialist's Report - Attachment 1: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC Specialist's Report - Attachment 2: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC Specialist's Report - Attachment 3: Document (CSV), on ntsb.gov
- ATC Specialist's Report - Attachment 4: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 28, 2019, about 0921 central standard time, a Piper PA-31T airplane, N42CV, impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from Lafayette Regional Airport/Paul Fournet Field (LFT), Lafayette, Louisiana. The commercial pilot and four passengers were fatally injured, and one passenger was seriously injured. One person in a nearby car sustained serious injuries, and two people in a nearby building sustained minor injuries. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postimpact fire. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. At 0913:16, the pilot contacted the local controller at the LFT air traffic control tower and requested an instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance to the flight’s destination, Dekalb Peachtree Airport (PDK), Atlanta, Georgia. The controller issued the clearance to the pilot and instructed him to climb to and maintain an altitude of 2,000 ft mean sea level after departure. (All altitudes in this report are expressed as mean sea level unless otherwise indicated.) The controller then instructed the pilot to taxi the airplane to runway 22L. At 0918:26, the pilot advised the controller that the airplane was ready for takeoff, and the controller cleared the airplane to depart and instructed the pilot to turn right onto a heading of 240°. After takeoff, the controller provided the pilot with a frequency change; at 0920:26, the pilot established communications with the departure controller and sta
Probable cause
The pilot’s loss of airplane control due to spatial disorientation during the initial climb in instrument meteorological conditions.
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Browse: Louisiana · 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.
