There was no response from the flight and radar contact was lost, with the last recorded radar data occurring at 1918. The aircraft had descended below 8,000 feet msl and the controller issued a revised altitude of 7,000 feet msl. The controller then issued the airplane a heading of 200 degrees and an altitude of 8,000 feet mean sea level (msl). The pilot responded affirmative and that he was having trouble with his autopilot.
Then, the controller queried the pilot about the airplane heading and asked if he was able to hold the assigned airplane altitude. The controller verified that the pilot had the local weather information for the intended destination of PDK. The flight departed Morristown Municipal Airport (MMU), Morristown, New Jersey, around 1635 with the intended destination of Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK), Atlanta, Georgia.Īccording to recorded Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Control (ATC) data, the airplane checked in on the Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center.
#Namibia africa 1997 c141 c4ash code#
The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight.
On December 2, 2013, at 1919 eastern standard time (EST), a Piper PA-46-310P, N87NF, was destroyed following an inflight break up, and impact with terrain in a heavily wooded area near Dawsonville, Georgia. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distraction by the reported malfunction of the autopilot system. The pilot’s in-flight loss of airplane control due to spatial disorientation while operating in dark night instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the exceedance of the airplane’s design stress limitations and a subsequent in-flight breakup. The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: Given the pilot’s distraction, the weather conditions encountered during the flight, and the sustained descending left turn, it is likely that the pilot experienced spatial disorientation and then lost control of the airplane. Dark (moonless) night conditions prevailed for the flight, and, about the time of the accident, instrument meteorological conditions with restricted visibility due to rain prevailed. However, given the available data and his conversation with the controller, it is likely that the pilot became focused on the autopilot system and diagnosing the reported problem. Although postaccident testing did not reveal any anomalies with the autopilot system, the pilot should have been able to disable the autopilot if it was experiencing a problem and then continue to fly the airplane. The pilot held an instrument rating however, investigators were unable to determine the extent of the pilot’s recent night or instrument flight experience. Examinations of the airframe, engines, and autopilot revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operations, and there was no evidence of medical impairment that would have affected the pilot’s performance. According to the Pilot’s Operating Handbook, the airplane’s maximum operating limit speed was 172 knots. A trajectory and performance study determined that, during the flight’s final 18 seconds, the airplane descended from about 8,000 to 2,200 ft msl, accelerated to about 300 knots indicated airspeed, and then broke up. According to air traffic control radar data, the airplane turned left and then right before entering a descending left turn.
Shortly after, the airplane wreckage was found. There was no response from the pilot, and radar contact was lost. He then asked the pilot if he was able to hold the assigned altitude of 8,000 ft mean sea level (msl), and the pilot responded that he could however, the airplane descended below 8,000 ft msl, and the controller then issued an altitude of 7,000 ft msl and a heading of 200 degrees. The controller verified that the pilot had the local weather information for the intended destination and then he queried the pilot about the airplane’s heading (which was north of the direct heading), and the pilot reported that he was having trouble with the autopilot. The pilot filed an instrument flight rules flight plan for the flight and was communicating with an air route traffic control center controller en route. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report. Accident occurred Monday, Decemin Dawsonville, GAĪircraft: PIPER PA-46-310P, registration: N87NF
0 kommentar(er)
