PIPER PA-32 — Atlanta, GA

What happened

The day prior to the accident, the 5,000-hour pilot flew his Beechcraft from Michigan to Georgia in order to rendezvous with a Piper flown in from Florida, with the intent of taking the Piper in trade for the Beechcraft. Shortly after the two airplanes arrived at the Georgia airport, the Beechcraft pilot conducted a pre-buy examination of the Piper, which lasted about 1 hour, and the airplane exchange was concluded later that day. The following day, the pilot was observed to preflight the Piper, and to taxi it from the ramp for departure about 45 minutes after he arrived at the airplane. Eight minutes later, the airplane was cleared for takeoff, and for about 90 seconds, the airplane climbed out at approximately 500 feet per minute (fpm). The pilot then declared an emergency, and requested a return to the airport. While executing the turn back toward the airport, the airplane entered a descent of approximately 2,600 fpm, and impacted trees and terrain in a residential neighborhood about 1-3/4 miles from the airport. Some exterior portions of the airplane skin exhibited an unusual oil coating, but this was determined to be a result of the impact sequence. No evidence of any pilot medical issues, or airplane anomalies such as opened doors or loose panels, that may have prompted the pilot's decision to return, or resulted in the airplane's rapid descent, was discovered.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.