Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB NYC08FA148
PIPER PA 28-161 — Venice, FL
| Date | March 25, 2008 |
| Location | Venice, FL |
| Aircraft | PIPER PA 28-161 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Night · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Uncontrolled descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 64 |
| Pilot total time | 4,000 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C
What happened
The airplane departed the coastal airport on a dark night, and turned over open water, in a left traffic pattern for runway 31. During the initial climb, on a mid-field downwind leg for the runway, the airplane departed controlled flight and impacted the water. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions. The vacuum pump vanes were intact; however, the entire vacuum system could not be tested due to impact damage. During a previous flight, another pilot noted an error with the accident airplane's directional gyro (DG). Specifically, the DG moved approximately 10 degrees off for every 5 or 10 minutes of time that elapsed. The unit was replaced and the other pilot noted a DG error on a subsequent flight; however, it was not as bad as the previous flight. The National Transportation Safety Board received no other reports of the DG error. The accident pilot had approximately 4,000 hours of total flight experience and 2 hours of total flight time in 90 days prior to the accident flight.