Undetermined · NTSB ERA10LA066
PIPER PA-28-140 — Newcomb, NY
| Date | November 15, 2009 |
| Location | Newcomb, NY |
| Aircraft | PIPER PA-28-140 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Night · Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Post-impact Fire/smoke (post-impact) |
| Pilot age | 48 |
| Pilot total time | 14,750 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot - C
- Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Ceiling/visibility/precip-Clouds-Contributed to outcome
- Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Ceiling/visibility/precip-Fog-Contributed to outcome
- Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Light condition-Dark-Contributed to outcome
What happened
The pilot and passenger were returning home on a night cross-country flight. The flight did not arrive and a search for the airplane ensued. The wreckage was found about 47 nautical miles from the destination airport, on the south side of a 4,600-foot mountain, about 600 feet below its peak. The initial impact area was a rock ledge, and a majority of the cabin and fuselage was consumed by postcrash fire. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preexisting mechanical anomalies and propeller signatures were indicative of engine power at impact. A portable global positioning system unit was found at the accident site; the data for the flight revealed that the airplane was in a shallow descent and on an approximate heading to the destination airport at the time of the accident. Although the exact weather conditions at the accident site were not determined, low clouds and fog were reported in the vicinity at the time of the accident. The accident occurred about 10 minutes after the end of civil twilight and there was no discernable moonlight at the time of the accident.