Controlled Flight Into Terrain · NTSB WPR14FA382
PIPER PA 28R-180 — Saratoga, WY
| Date | September 21, 2014 |
| Location | Saratoga, WY |
| Aircraft | PIPER PA 28R-180 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Night · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Initial climb Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 52 |
| Pilot total time | 210 hrs · Low time |
| Time in type | 45 hrs |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Climb rate-Not attained/maintained - C
- Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Sloped/uneven terrain-Awareness of condition - C
- Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Light condition-Dark-Effect on personnel - C
What happened
The private pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. The airplane took off on a moonless night from an uncontrolled rural airport that resides in rolling prairie grass and has a sparse population. The airplane wreckage was found by a local rancher the morning after the accident. The airplane had collided with terrain that was about 100 ft above the airport elevation, 1.3 miles southeast from the center of the runway. The initial point of impact was a shallow 7-ft-long ground scar that contained green/blue lens fragments from the right wing tip. The ground scar was oriented in a direct line with the main wreckage on a magnetic bearing of 240 degrees.
Based on the direction of the ground scar, it is likely that the airplane took off from runway 23 and drifted south without establishing a positive climb rate and then impacted the slightly elevated terrain southeast of the airport. Additionally, the environment southeast of the airport lacked ground features and lighted buildings or roads, which, on a moonless night, would produce very dark conditions with no ground references or natural horizon. The private pilot had no significant instrument or night flying experience.