Piper PA-28-180 accident near Mertzon, TX
On November 26, 2023, a Piper PA-28-180 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Mertzon, TX. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- November 26, 2023
- Place
- Mertzon, TX
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-180 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 31.380°N, 101.001°W
- NTSB ID
- 20231126193423
Official records · WPR24FA040
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn November 25, 2023, about 1835 central standard time, a Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee, N7763W, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Mertzon, Texas. The 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 mother, the pilot, his wife and their daughter arrived at the Las Cruces International Airport (LRU) Las Cruces, New Mexico, for a family holiday gathering. The pilot conducted local flights on Friday and planned to return home on Saturday. According to his father, the pilot believed that the weather was going to be worse on Sunday. At that time, the pilot mentioned to his father that it was going to be a little cloudy and indicated that the flight could proceed as planned. On the morning of the accident flight, the pilot filed a VFR flight plan, from LRU, over a point about 36 miles southeast of LRU, then direct to the Bulverde Airpark (1T8) San Antonio, Texas, with an estimated departure time of 0900 mountain standard time (MST), and an estimated arrival time of 1325 central standard time. The flight route did not include the Pecos Municipal Airport (PEQ) Pecos, Texas, as a stop, but the pilot’s parents knew that the pilot was going to stop there for fuel. The pilot filed for an en route altitude of 10,500 ft mean sea level (msl). A third-party web-based weather software application provided a weather brief for the flight plan that included areas of marginal VFR and multiple Airman’s Meteorological Information reports (AIRMET) fo
Probable cause
The non-instrument-rated pilot’s continued visual flight into night instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and subsequent loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s overconfidence.
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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.
