Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Airolo Swaziland
Sunday, September 16, 2007 17:00 UTC

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On September 16, 2007, at 1700 UTC, a Piper PA28-181, Swiss registration HB-PGC, was destroyed when during cruise flight the airplane impacted mountainous terrain near Airolo, Switzerland. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot and one passenger on board the airplane sustained serious injuries. Two other passengers on board the airplane were fatally injured. The personal cross-country flight originated at Firenze Peretola, Italy, and was enroute to Zurich, Switzerland. This investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the Swiss government. Any further information may be obtained from: Swiss Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau Bundeshaus Nord 3003 Bern Switzerland This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by, or obtained from, the AAIB of Switzerland.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/16/2007
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Coordinated Universal Time? Same as GMT
Event City Airolo
Event State UNKNOWN
Event Country SWAZILAND
Zipcode of the event site 00000
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 463200N
Event Location Longitude 0084400E
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport --
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
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID LSMM
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions --
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Obscured
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.06
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 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 2
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency Foreign
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) --
NTSB Notification Source Swiss AIB
NTSB Notification Date Sep 21 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 24 2007 4:30PM
User who most recently changed record ntsb\Administrator
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Swiss AAIB

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number --
NTSB Number DEN07WA164
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Non-U.S., Non-Commercial
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire --
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-181
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number --
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Number of Engines --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name --
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? --
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? --
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Zurich
Operator State --
Operator Country SZ
Operator Zip code 00000
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 --
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code LIRQ
Departure City Firenze
Departure State UN
Departure Country IT
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code LSZH
Destination City Zurich
Destination State UN
Destination Country SZ
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 24 2007 4:16PM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --