Piper PA32 accident near Afton, VA
On September 15, 2022, a Piper PA32 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Afton, VA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 15, 2022
- Place
- Afton, VA
- Aircraft
- Piper PA32 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 37.985°N, 78.717°W
- NTSB ID
- 20220915105942
Official records · ERA22FA418
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Excerpts From FAA Accident Report (Air Traffic Control Timeline): Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 14, 2022, about 2300 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32-300, N2104J, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Afton, Virginia. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the airport manager at Blue Ridge Airport (MTV), Martinsville, Virginia, the pilot diverted to MTV uneventfully on September 10, 2022, due to weather. He purchased 72 gallons of fuel, left his airplane there and returned to Pennsylvania on a commercial flight. On the day of the accident, the pilot arrived back at MTV to retrieve his airplane with the intention of flying back to his home airport, Smoketown Airport (S37), Smoketown, Pennsylvania. Automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast (ADS-B) and communication data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicated that the airplane was in cruise flight at 7,500 ft mean sea level when the pilot reported a rough running engine, followed by a total loss of engine power. The pilot attempted to glide the airplane to Charlottesville-Albemarle (CHO), Charlottesville, Virginia, but the airplane impacted wooded terrain about 15 miles southwest of CHO. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe airplane’s logbooks were not recovered and were presumed destroyed during the postcrash fire. However, the maintenance facility that completed the most recent annual inspection on August 1, 2022, was able to provide copies of their work order and logbook endorsements for that inspection. At that time, the airframe had accumulated a total t
Probable cause
A catastrophic engine failure due to oil starvation, which resulted in a total loss of engine power at night over mountainous terrain.
More accidents in VA
- Boeing 757-200, Sep 11, 2001
- Beech B99, Sep 23, 1985
- Beech 65, Sep 10, 1995
- Beech 200, Oct 24, 2004
- Piper PA-31-310, Nov 14, 1982
Browse: Virginia · 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.
