Piper PA46 accident near Seligman, AZ
On September 13, 2022, a Piper PA46 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Seligman, AZ. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 13, 2022
- Place
- Seligman, AZ
- Aircraft
- Piper PA46 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 35.484°N, 112.720°W
- NTSB ID
- 20220913105929
Official records · WPR22FA345
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Air Traffic Control - Attachment 3 - Area F Sector 8 (R8) ATC Audio: Audio recording (WAV), on ntsb.gov
- Air Traffic Control Group Chair Factual Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Air Traffic Control - Attachment 2 - Aircraft Accident Package: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Air Traffic Control - Attachment 4 - Ads-B Data: Document (ZIP), on ntsb.gov
- Air Traffic Control - Attachment 5 - Administrative And Training Documents: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 13, 2022, about 1100 mountain standard time, a Piper PA46-310P airplane, N43605, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Seligman, Arizona. The student pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot departed from Double Eagle II Airport (AEG), Albuquerque, New Mexico, and proceeded west, climbing the airplane to about 17,200 ft msl, and established visual flight rules flight following services with air traffic control. At 1041, the pilot contacted Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center and advised that the airplane was at 17,700 ft. At 1055, the controller advised the pilot of an area of moderate to heavy precipitation at the airplane’s twelve o’clock. The pilot indicated that they had been able to “dodge” areas of precipitation thus far, but that they were getting bigger. ADS-B flight track information showed that, about this time, the airplane entered a left turn to the south at an altitude about 17,700 ft. After about 180° of turn, the airplane began to descend as it continued the left turn. About 1103, the controller noted that the airplane had changed course and asked the pilot if he needed assistance; however, there was no response from the pilot. The end of the flight track data indicated that the airplane was in a descending right turn at an altitude of 13,900 ft. The end of the flight path was coincident with a cell of heavy to extreme reflectivity as depicted on weather radar. Security video located near t
Probable cause
The student pilot’s continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation, a loss of control, exceedance of the airplane’s design limitations, and in-flight breakup.
More accidents in AZ
- De Havilland DHC-6-300, Sep 27, 1989
- Cessna 402C, Jun 19, 1992
- Piper PA-31-350, Aug 17, 1983
- Piper PA-31-350, Feb 13, 1995
- Cessna 421C, Sep 2, 1995
Browse: Arizona · 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.
