Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Peru, West Virginia 26810
Sunday, October 2, 2011 20:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The non-instrument-rated pilot, who was also the owner of the airplane, departed on a night visual flight rules (VFR) flight. Weather conditions at the departure airport were VFR, the weather conditions en route were a combination of marginal VFR and instrument flight rules (IFR), and the weather at the destination airport was IFR. The pilot had obtained a weather briefing earlier in the evening, during which he was informed that VFR flight was not recommended. About 30 minutes before the accident, the pilot's in-flight weather briefing indicated that instrument meteorological conditions, including low ceilings and mountain obscuration, were forecast for their intended route and at their destination. About 4 minutes before the accident, the pilot advised air traffic control personnel that "we are losing VFR, I need a deviation." Radio and radar contact were then lost.
A postaccident examination of the wreckage indicated that the airplane struck the top of a tree, rolled inverted, and impacted the ground. No preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation were noted. The only navigational charts found at the accident scene were folded VFR charts and airport facility directories. No IFR charts were found.
Analysis of the radar data and wreckage information revealed that the airplane made a series of erratic maneuvers, including a 360-degree heading change, before entering a descent and impacting the ground at high speed. These maneuvers took place in the last few minutes of the flight and were consistent with spatial disorientation. FAA guidance indicates that spatial disorientation can occur when there is no natural horizon or surface reference, such as a night flight in sparsely populated areas similar to that of the accident area and conditions. Although about 34 percent of the moon's disk was potentially illuminated at the time of the accident, given the cloud coverage in the area it is unlikely that the moon provided any illumination over the accident site. FAA guidance also indicates that spatial disorientation is more likely to occur if a pilot lacks proficiency in instrument flying.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The non-instrument rated pilot's improper decision to continue visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and subsequent in-flight collision with mountainous terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/2/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 2045 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Peru |
| Event State | WEST VIRGINIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 26810 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 385055N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0790056W |
| 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 | 2055 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 335 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | W99 |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 963 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 3600 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| 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) | 8 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.97 |
| 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) | 31332 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 16 2013 3:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N115CL |
| NTSB Number | ERA12FA012 |
| 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-32R-300 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32R-7780439 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3600 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 4 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 2 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 4541.15 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WINGS R US |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | LEECHBURG |
| Aircraft Owner State | PA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 15656 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | WINGS R US |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | LEECHBURG |
| Operator State | PA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 15656 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | DAN |
| Departure City | Danville |
| Departure State | VA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1930 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | JST |
| Destination City | Johnstown |
| Destination State | PA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 16 2013 3:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |