Piper PA46 accident near Yoakum, TX
On January 17, 2023, a Piper PA46 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Yoakum, TX. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- January 17, 2023
- Place
- Yoakum, TX
- Aircraft
- Piper PA46 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 29.306°N, 97.111°W
- NTSB ID
- 20230117106588
Official records · CEN23FA084
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- ATC - Zhu Certified Audio: Recording (ZIP), on ntsb.gov
- ATC - Services Review: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- FAA Air Traffic Control Aircraft Accident Package: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn January 17, 2023, about 1036 central standard time, a Piper PA-46-350P JetProp DLX airplane, N963MA, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Yoakum, Texas. The pilot, copilot, and two passengers sustained fatal injuries. One passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 business flight. According to the pilot’s wife, the purpose of the flight was a day trip for the pilot to visit his business. The copilot and the passengers were going to visit the surviving passenger’s property to observe his cattle ranching operation. The Yoakum Municipal Airport (T85), Yoakum, Texas, was the intended destination. A review of ATC data showed that the airplane departed from the Memphis International Airport (MEM), Memphis, Tennessee, at 0748, on an IFR clearance. The intended destination of T85 was not served by a control tower. As the airplane was traveling to the southwest and descending to 10,000 ft mean sea level (msl), the pilot established communication with the controller. The controller instructed the pilot to maintain 3,000 ft msl. The pilot requested the RNAV (GPS) Runway 31 approach at T85; the controller cleared the airplane direct to the initial approach fix, FOSAL waypoint. The controller instructed the pilot to maintain 3,000 ft msl until reaching FOSAL and cleared the airplane for the RNAV (GPS) runway 31 approach procedure. When the airplane was descending through 3,500 ft msl, the controller instructed the pilot to report the IFR clearance cancellatio
Probable cause
The pilot’s spatial disorientation during a missed approach in instrument meteorological conditions, which led to an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall.
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.
