ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 236713
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| Date: | Friday 5 June 2020 |
| Time: | 15:20 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31T Cheyenne |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N135VE |
| MSN: | 31T-7520024 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1975 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 7749 hours |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-135 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Eatonton, GA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Williston Municipal Airport, FL (X60) |
| New Castle Henry Co. Municipal Airport, IN (KUWL) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On June 5, 2020, about 1520 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-31T, N135VE, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Eatonton, Georgia. The two pilots and the three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
Before the personal instrument flight rules flight began, the pilot obtained a preflight weather briefing that indicated that instrument meteorological conditions, convective activity, and moderate-to-severe icing conditions would be occurring along the route of flight. According to track data, while the pilot was navigating to avoid weather, the pilot was using the autopilot for maneuvering. After the pilot reported to air traffic control that the airplane would be turning direct to its destination, the performance analysis of track data showed that the airplane began a slight left turn with a bank angle of about 10°, which was consistent with the intended route of flight. However, the turn then reversed, and the airplane began banking to the right, reaching about 120° right wing down during the next 70 seconds and showing a slow oscillation in pitch attitude. Satellite imagery showed that the airplane was likely in instrument meteorological conditions when it began a rapid descent, and the airplane’s descent rate was about 7,000 feet per minute.
Postaccident examination of the airplane and right engine (the left engine was not recovered) revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The dynamics of the airplane’s movements after the right turn began indicated that the airplane likely was not being actively controlled when it diverted from the intended flightpath. The circumstances of this accident were thus consistent with the pilot’s lack of timely recognition that the autopilot was disengaged. The available evidence for this accident precluded a determination of where the pilot’s attention was directed while navigating direct to the destination. However, the turbulence would have increased the pilot’s workload, and the restricted visibility conditions would have prevented the pilot’s use of outside cues to detect deviations in the airplane’s attitude. Also, the initial roll rates might not have been sufficient to provide reliable cues to the pilot of the developing bank, and the convective conditions would likely have made it difficult for the pilot to detect and recover from the fully developed unusual attitude.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane while maneuvering in instrument meteorological conditions, which placed the airplane in an unusual attitude from which the pilot could not recover. Contributing to the accident was the convective and turbulent weather.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/local/sheriff-no-survivors-in-putnam-county-plane-crash/93-50cde232-cfc4-4b2f-85f5-550c0e807de7
https://www.ajc.com/news/local/breaking-small-plane-crashes-near-lake-oconee/OdBMrfN859KrCLDZIwiAYJ/
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/pilot-florida-family-of-4-headed-to-funeral-in-indiana-die-in-georgia-plane-crash
NTSB
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=135VE
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N135VE
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a08fa4&lat=33.385&lon=-83.332&zoom=16.8&showTrace=2020-06-05&trackLabels×tamp=1591384739
https://photos-e1.flightcdn.com/photos/retriever/63cf912b6a2db89e1450a9c2f562ec415d73fee7 (photo)
Location
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Jun-2020 02:16 | Geno | Added |
| 06-Jun-2020 02:17 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 06-Jun-2020 02:24 | Geno | Updated [Registration, Narrative] |
| 06-Jun-2020 02:25 | Geno | Updated [Source] |
| 06-Jun-2020 06:30 | RobertMB | Updated [Total fatalities] |
| 06-Jun-2020 06:38 | RobertMB | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 06-Jun-2020 09:08 | Captain Adam | Updated [Narrative] |
| 06-Jun-2020 09:51 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 07-Feb-2021 20:41 | Captain Adam | Updated [Narrative] |
| 28-Jun-2021 13:12 | aaronwk | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Oct-2022 19:41 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative, Accident report, Photo] |
| 05-Oct-2022 19:41 | Captain Adam | Updated [Photo] |
| 05-Oct-2022 19:45 | Captain Adam | Updated [Photo] |
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