Piper PA46 accident near Hilltop Lakes, TX
On September 20, 2020, a Piper PA46 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Hilltop Lakes, TX. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 20, 2020
- Place
- Hilltop Lakes, TX
- Aircraft
- Piper PA46 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 31.074°N, 96.213°W
- NTSB ID
- 20200920X30723
Official records · CEN20LA402
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Air Traffic Control Communication: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 20, 2020, about 1050 central daylight time (CDT), a Piper PA-46-310, N236KM, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Hilltop Lakes, Texas. The commercial pilot and three passengers sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. While in cruise flight at 19,000 ft mean sea level (msl), the pilot declared an emergency to air traffic control (ATC) and stated that the airplane had lost engine power and that he needed to divert. The pilot elected to divert to Hilltop Lakes Airport (0TE4), which was about 5 miles south of his position. Archived Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data revealed that when the airplane was about 5 miles west of 0TE4, a descent was initiated from 19,000 ft, and the airplane proceeded directly to and circled the airport one time while descending. ADS-B data was lost about 3 miles northeast of the airport, as the airplane descended below the floor of the ADS-B reception capability. Commercially available flight track data, which aggregates and geo-references FAA data sources, continued to receive aircraft data as the airplane turned to a final approach segment. The last data point showed the airplane about 1 mile north of the approach end of runway 15 at 0TE4 at an altitude of 1,250 ft, 169 knots groundspeed and on a ground track of 145°. From the cruise altitude of 19,000 ft until the last data point, about 12 minutes and 45 seconds had elapsed, which equated to an a
Probable cause
The loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined and the pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and spin. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to establish and maintain a proper glidepath.
More accidents in TX
- Kubicek BB85, Jul 30, 2016
- Robertson C-414, Jul 29, 1982
- Textron Aviation B-300, Jun 30, 2019
- Beech B100, Nov 26, 1983
- Consolidated-Vultee PBY-6A, Oct 13, 1984
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.
