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| Date: | Tuesday 25 October 2011 |
| Time: | 16:10 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-44-180 Seminole |
| Owner/operator: | Hillsboro Aviation Inc |
| Registration: | N3062H |
| MSN: | 44-7995165 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1978 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near St. Paul, OR -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | McMinnville Municipal Airport, OR (KMMV) |
| Aurora State Airport, OR (KUAO) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On October 25, 2011, about 1610 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-44-180, N3062H, registered to and operated by Hillsboro Aviation, Hillsboro, Oregon, as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 instructional flight and a Beech V35, N5938S, registered to and operated by a private individual as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, collided midair about 5 miles northeast of St. Paul, Oregon. The Beech was destroyed and the Piper was substantially damaged. The airline transport rated pilot in the Beech sustained fatal injuries. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and private pilot receiving instruction in the Piper were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for either flight. The local flight for the Piper originated from the Mc Minnville Municipal Airport (MMV), Mc Minnville, Oregon, about 1536, destined for the Aurora State Airport, Aurora, Oregon. The local flight for the Beech originated from the Stark's Twin Oaks Airport, Hillsboro, Oregon, at 1539.
A Beech V35 and Piper PA-44-180 collided in flight in a common practice area for airwork. The flight instructor in the Piper reported that at an altitude of about 7,500 feet mean sea level (msl), he told the pilot receiving instruction to conduct a simulated emergency descent. The instructor stated that the pilot receiving instruction executed the simulated emergency descent and recovered to cruise flight at an altitude of about 4,500 feet msl before they continued toward a local airport. As the flight continued, the instructor observed a single-engine airplane that appeared to be on a converging course, and he transmitted a position report on the intended destination airport's common traffic advisory frequency. The instructor stated that after making a slight heading change and descent, he re-established visual contact with a single-engine airplane, which was then behind and above the Piper’s position. He then scanned the area ahead of the Piper’s position from left to right. The instructor said he then felt a jolt along with a violent shudder in the airplane followed by an uncommanded left roll and yaw. The instructor took control of the airplane and made a forced landing to a nearby open field.
Review of recorded radar data revealed that the Piper was on a northwesterly heading at 7,700 feet msl when it initiated a right descending turn. Meanwhile, the Beech was traveling on a continuous northeasterly heading at an altitude of about 2,400 feet msl. The last recorded radar target for each airplane before the collision showed that the airplanes were on converging paths; the Piper was at 2,800 feet msl on a northeasterly heading and maneuvering west of the Beech, which was at an altitude of about 2,400 feet msl on a north-northeasterly heading. During examination of the recovered wreckage, transfer marks were identified consistent with the radar-derived collision angle. Both airplanes were operating in visual conditions when they collided.
Based on relative positions of the airplanes, and given the other airplane traffic in the area, it seems likely that the single-engine airplane the Piper instructor observed before the collision was not the Beech with which the collision occurred. It could not be determined if either pilot could see the other just before the collision; however, based on the airplanes’ relative positions and flight attitudes, it seems unlikely. The Piper was maneuvering in a left bank at the time and it is likely that the Piper’s wing and engine blocked the Beech from the Piper pilot's field of vision. Additionally, the Beech pilot’s view of the Piper, which was above and to the left of his flight path, would likely have been blocked by the airplane’s door post and cabin roof structure.
Probable Cause: The pilot was unable to see the other aircraft to avoid a collision.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=82168
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 19 December 1990 | N3062H | Comair Aviation Academy | 0 | Sanford, FL | |
min |
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Oct-2011 01:11 | superflyer | Added |
| 26-Oct-2011 01:11 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 26-Oct-2011 08:05 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 26-Oct-2011 08:08 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 26-Oct-2011 08:11 | RobertMB | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 26-Oct-2011 17:14 | RobertMB | Updated [Other fatalities, Narrative, ] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:26 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency, ] |
| 27-Nov-2017 17:19 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 05-Jul-2025 16:49 | Captain Adam | Updated [Total fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Accident report, Photo, ] |
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