Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Dubbs, Mississippi 38626
Sunday, November 14, 2004 12:20 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot of N56960 had initiated contact with Memphis Approach Control requesting permission to transit the Memphis Class B airspace. A controller stated that he radar identified the flight at 7,500 feet, and instructed the pilot to change frequencies but no reply was received. Two witnesses stated that they observed the airplane flying above them from south to north, the engine was making a "funny" noise, and all of a sudden the airplane spiraled downward with parts coming off of it. The main wreckage was located in a rural farm area and aircraft-related debris was spread over a length of 0.83 nautical miles from north-northwest to south-southeast, beginning with the right aileron and ending with the fuselage/main wreckage. The NTSB conducted a weather study and about the time of the accident, cloud bases were near 3,000 feet, and cloud tops were above 7,500 feet, with multiple cloud layers present, and visibilities of 0 miles in clouds, and greater than 3 miles below the lowest cloud. FAA records did not indicate that the pilot possessed an instrument rating. Examination of the engine and accessories revealed no evidence of any precrash anomalies. In addition, the NTSB Materials Laboratory conducted detailed examinations of the fracture surfaces pertaining to the left and right wings' forward and aft spars, as well as sections of the empennage, and all fracture surfaces were consistent with overstress.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions and his in-flight loss of control, resulting in overstress of the airframe and subsequent structural failure.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/14/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1220 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Dubbs |
| Event State | MISSISSIPPI |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 38626 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 343401N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0901854W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1153 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 210 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MEM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 283 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 34 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 130 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.5 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 3 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 20838 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ATL. Comm. Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 14 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1512 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 31 2007 9:40AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Jackson, Mississippi |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N56960 |
| NTSB Number | MIA05FA028 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28R-200 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28R-7435064 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2650 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 1 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 27 |
| Airframe Hours | 3952 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | -- |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Felix E. Nylec |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 11429 Swinford Lane |
| Aircraft Owner City | Mokena |
| Aircraft Owner State | IL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 60448 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | -- |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | -- |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | L38 |
| Departure City | Gonzales |
| Departure State | LA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1030 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | TKX |
| Destination City | Kenneth |
| Destination State | MO |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise - normal |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 1 2006 9:15AM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |