Heaven's Landing Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Clayton, Georgia 30525
Saturday, July 26, 2014 8:50 EDT

On July 26, 2014, about 0850 eastern daylight time (EDT), a Piper PA-46-310P, N248SP, impacted trees and terrain shortly after takeoff from Heaven's Landing Airport (GE99), Clayton, Georgia. The private pilot was fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire. 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. Day, instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident and was en route to Aurora, Illinois (ARR). Two witnesses were standing outside on the ramp and observed the accident airplane prior to departure. The preflight, engine start, and taxi appeared to be routine. There was fog present at the time, and it was "rolling up the valley," which was a frequent event at the airport. The lateral visibility was about 1,000 feet below the fog layer and obscured above. The elevated terrain surrounding the airport was obscured in the fog. The pilot back-taxied to runway 5 and initiated the takeoff. The airplane became airborne about 2,000 feet down the 5,062-feet-long runway. They observed the landing gear extended and the airplane seemed to drift to the left after takeoff. They heard the engine running normally, with no change in the sound, until the crash. They heard two distinct "booms" about four to six seconds apart. They ran down to the departure end of the runway to look for a crash site, and could not see the wreckage, or any smoke or fire, due to the fog. The airplane crashed into elevated terrain, in a heavily wooded area, about 1,500 feet north of the departure end of runway 5. The elevation at the crash site was about 300 feet higher than the elevation at the departure end of runway 5. A majority of the wreckage was consumed in a post-crash fire. All major structural components of the airplane were accounted for within the wreckage debris path. Numerous tree limbs were scattered along the debris path with smooth, angular cuts through the limbs. The aircraft maintenance records were provided to the investigation team shortly after the accident. According to the records, an annual inspection of the airframe, engine, and propeller was performed on June 11, 2014, at a total airframe time of 3,593 hours. At the time of the annual inspection, the engine had accumulated 532 hours since the last major overhaul. The annual inspection was the last entry in the logbooks. The pilot possessed a private pilot certificate with airplane single engine land and instrument airplane ratings. Reportedly, he lived at the fly-in community surrounding the airport and was instrumental in its development. He reported 4,200 hours of total flight time on his third class medical application, dated March 5, 2014.

Not Yet Reported