Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Dawsonville, Georgia 30534
Monday, December 2, 2013 19:15 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On December 2, 2013, about 1915 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-46-310P, N87NF, was destoryed following an inflight break up, and impact with terrain in a heavily wooded area near Dawsonville, Georgia. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument meteorological flight plan was filed for the flight. The private pilot was fatally injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight departed Morristown Municipal Airport (MMU), Morristown, New Jersey, around 1635 with the intended destination of Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK), Atlanta, Georgia.
Preliminary radar data indicated that the airplane reversed direction and made several turns prior to losing radar contact and contact with air traffic control.
The accident debris path was approximately 700-feet-wide by 2,000-feet-long, and main wreckage, which consisted of the fuselage, engine, and inboard section of the wings, was oriented on a 237 degree heading. The outboard section of the left and right wing, rudder, horizontal stabilizer, elevator counter weights, and the inboard section of the elevator were found about 700 feet north of the main wreckage in a field. The vertical stabilizer and midsection of the left and right elevator were found in a road approximately 900 feet to the northeast of the main wreckage. A midsection of the right flap was found the furthest from the main wreckage, which was 2,000 feet east northeast of the main wreckage. All components of the airplane were located and control continuity was confirmed to all flight control surfaces. An odor similar to Jet A fuel was noted throughout the debris field.
The engine remained attached to the firewall through wires and all engine mounts. Several components inside the engine exhibited rotational scoring. In addition, the compressor turbine was rotated by hand and continuity was confirmed between the compressor and the accessory gear box. There were no mechanical malfunctions or abnormalities noted with the engine that would have precluded normal operation.
A Garmin 696 handheld global positioning system, a Garmin 496 handheld global positioning system, an Avidyne EX500, and an engine monitor were located, removed, and sent to the NTSB Recorder Laboratory for download.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/2/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1915 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Dawsonville |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 30534 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | N/A |
| 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 Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 135 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | GVL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1276 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 12 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Overcast |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 4 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 10 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| 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) | 29.86 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 13 2013 2:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N87NF |
| NTSB Number | ERA14FA058 |
| 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 | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA 46-310P |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 310P |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 4608099 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4101 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 6 |
| 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 | Jan 29 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 5904.4 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | CULBAIR LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | ATLANTA |
| Aircraft Owner State | GA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 30327 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | CULBAIR LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | ATLANTA |
| Operator State | GA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 30327 |
| 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 | MMU |
| Departure City | Morristown |
| Departure State | NJ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1635 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PDK |
| Destination City | Atlanta |
| Destination State | GA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 6 2013 10:59PM |
| User who most recently changed record | moah-i |
| 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 | -- |