Piper PA32 accident near Metz, WV

On August 11, 2022, a Piper PA32 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Metz, WV. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

August 11, 2022

Place

Metz, WV

Aircraft

Piper PA32 · Airplane

Injuries

3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

39.624°N, 80.385°W

NTSB ID

20220812105724

Official records · ERA22FA368

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

Air traffic control records

• Air Traffic Control - Audio Data: Recording (ZIP), on ntsb.gov
• FAA Air Traffic Control Package (Excerpts): Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 11, 2022, about 1805 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA32-301, N720RP, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Metz, West Virginia. The private pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot’s employer, the pilot and the passengers were congregants of the same church, and the flight was a planned day trip to conduct church business in Indiana. The accident occurred on the return flight. Automatic dependent surveillance - broadcast (ADS-B) data and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control information revealed that the airplane departed Deck Airport (9D4), Myerstown, Pennsylvania, about 0735 the morning of the accident, and landed at Daviess County Airport (DCY), Washington, Indiana. The airplane subsequently departed DCY on the accident flight at 1543. About 1752, the airplane was in cruise flight at an altitude about 9,500 ft mean sea level (msl) and flying on an easterly heading approximately parallel to and south of a band of light/moderate to extreme precipitation that extended across Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The pilot contacted the Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center controller and indicated that, based on his cockpit NEXRAD display, he was considering a 30-degree left turn to deviate around an area of precipitation. The controller replied, “I’m showing some slight gaps in that, but the whole line off your left-hand side is moderate to heavy with pockets of extreme. So, there ma

Probable cause

The non-instrument-rated pilot’s intentional visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions based on latent weather information, which resulted in the airplane entering extreme precipitation, a loss of aircraft control, and in-flight break-up.

More accidents in WV

• Bell UH-1B, Jun 22, 2022
• Piper PA-34-200T, Jan 30, 2009
• Piper PA-32R-301T, Jul 19, 2004
• Piper PA-32-R-300, Sep 26, 1982
• Piper PA-32RT-300T, Feb 9, 1984

Browse: West Virginia · 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.