Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Macon, Georgia 31216
Monday, May 27, 2013 18:05 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On May 27, 2013, about 1805 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32R-300, N4489F, was destroyed following a collision with terrain while on approach to the Middle Georgia Regional Airport (MCN), Macon, Georgia. The airline transport pilot and one pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to a corporation and was operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight that departed Apalachicola Regional Airport (AAF), Apalachicola, Florida, destined for Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU), Greenville, South Carolina.
According to preliminary information obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot reported a slight loss in oil pressure and requested to land at MCN. The controller issued a clearance to MCN airport, put the aircraft on a 360 heading for a modified left base for a Visual Approach (VA) to Runway 23 and descended the aircraft to 3,000 feet. The air traffic controller advised pilot to expect a VA to runway 23 and issued both the wind and altimeter settings. Personnel at Robins Air Force Base (WRB), Warner Robins, Georgia, were also advised of the airplane’s position and the request to transition WRB airspace for landing at MCN, which was approved. After the pilot reported MCN in sight and approximately 5 miles south of MCN, the controller cleared pilot for the VA to runway 23. Before switching the aircraft to MCN tower the controller asked the pilot if "we could provide any further assistance" to the pilot to which the reply was "not at this time".
On initial contact with MCN, the pilot advised that his engine had stopped and he was not going to make it to runway 23. The MCN Local Controller (LC) offered runway 31 for a straight in approach; however, the pilot requested landing on runway 15 at WRB. The MCN LC coordinated with WRB and advised the aircraft to contact WRB tower. The pilot never established communication with WRB and crashed approximately .8 mile northeast of WRB, which was 3 miles southeast of MCN. Smoke was seen from WRB tower and verified by an airborne aircraft. First responders discovered the wreckage in a heavily wooded area approximately 20 minutes after the last radar and radio communications.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/27/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1805 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Macon |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 31216 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 323950N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0833611W |
| 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 | 1853 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 160 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MCN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 354 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 7000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 15 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.11 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KWRB 272158Z AUTO 15004KT 10SM CLR 30/17 A3012 |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern CROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 7 2013 3:29PM |
| User who most recently changed record | alle |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4489F |
| NTSB Number | ERA13FA256 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-32R-300 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32R-7680452 |
| 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 | 7 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | FLEBO AIR LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 15 HALIDON RD |
| Aircraft Owner City | GREENVILLE |
| Aircraft Owner State | SC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 29607-3611 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | FLEBO AIR LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 15 HALIDON RD |
| Operator City | GREENVILLE |
| Operator State | SC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 29607-3611 |
| 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 | AAF |
| Departure City | Apalachicola |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1641 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | GMU |
| Destination City | Greenville |
| Destination State | SC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 7 2013 3:29PM |
| User who most recently changed record | alle |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |