Weather (Other) · NTSB NYC08FA260
PIPER PA-23 — Highlands, NC
| Date | July 29, 2008 |
| Location | Highlands, NC |
| Aircraft | PIPER PA-23 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Enroute-cruise Windshear or thunderstorm |
| Pilot age | 49 |
| Pilot total time | 11,920 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Convective weather-Thunderstorm-Decision related to condition - C
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C
- Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Convective weather-(general)-Availability of related info - F
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of policy/procedure-ATC personnel - F
What happened
The professional airline pilot had just purchased the personal airplane, and the accident flight was his first flight in it. Prior to departing on the instrument flight rules flight, the pilot received a weather briefing which included warnings for severe convective activity. While enroute, the pilot was in contact with air traffic control and indicated he was deviating around weather. The controller initially described the radar-observed precipitation correctly to the pilot. However, when the pilot decided to deviate toward a different area of extreme weather, the controller described it only as "a buildup," which was not in compliance with Federal Aviation Administration directives. By the time the pilot elected to reverse course, the airplane was in the vicinity of extreme-levels of precipitation. A ground witness observed the airplane fly into an area of "dark clouds", and then break apart in-flight. Examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical anomalies.