ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 35789
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| Date: | Sunday 14 September 1997 |
| Time: | 16:15 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-28-235 Cherokee |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N9399W |
| MSN: | 28-11104 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | St. Ignace, MI -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Drummond Island Airport, MI (DRM) |
| Livingston County Spencer, MI (OZW) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On September 14, 1997, a Piper PA-28-235 airplane, N9399W, impacted terrain near St. Ignace, Michigan. The noninstrument-rated pilot and passenger were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was owned by the pilot who was operating it as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the departure airport and along the flight route, and no flight plan was filed for the cross-country flight, which originated from Drummond Island Airport (KY66), Drummond Island, Michigan, about 1553 destined for Livingston County Spencer J. Hardy Airport (OZW), Howell, Michigan.
The noninstrument-rated pilot departed for a cross-country flight in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The airplane was reported missing the following day. Radar data showed the airplane traveling south from the airport about 25 miles over Lake Huron, then turning north before disappearing from radar. The airplane was not located during the initial search but was found about 21 years after it was reported missing in a heavily forested area.
A friend of the pilot stated that, while flying together in IMC, he allowed the pilot to assume control of the airplane three times and that, each time, the pilot experienced vertigo and the friend had to intervene to regain airplane control.
Weather conditions along the flight route included cloud ceilings as low as 400 ft above ground level. It is possible the pilot departed believing he could fly under the cloud ceilings. However, radar data showing the airplane flying south and then turning north before disappearing from radar indicates that the airplane likely encountered weather too adverse for the pilot to navigate through and that the pilot subsequently altered the flight route to find improved weather or an alternate landing location but subsequently crashed the airplane.
Based on available evidence, it could not be determined if the pilot experienced vertigo, spatial disorientation, or controlled flight into terrain due to the low visibility conditions. Given the weather conditions and that the pilot was not instrument rated, he should not have departed in IMC; instead, he should have delayed his departure until the weather conditions improved to allow flight in visual meteorological conditions.
Probable Cause: The noninstrument-rated pilot's improper decision to depart in instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in impact with terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001208X08803&key=1
FAA register: 2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=9399W
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Media:
NTSB investigating crash of Piper PA-28-235 near St. Ignace, Michigan.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) July 12, 2018
Wreckage from a Piper PA-28-235 plane that crashed 20 YEARS ago is finally found in Michigan forest but the pilot and his wife remain missing presumed dead.https://t.co/LkoYQfIsl1 pic.twitter.com/SKspm5rtcQ
— Planes Of Legend (@PlanesOfLegend) 15 juillet 2018
Authorities on Thursday, 2018 Aug. 16, verified that human remains discovered in Michigan's Upper Peninsula last month are those of a married couple who disappeared while flying an airplane in the area 21 years ago, the Associated Press reports. https://t.co/l3ZKp9MpMU pic.twitter.com/tqrynqzXSH
— Planes Of Legend (@PlanesOfLegend) 17 août 2018
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:22 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 12-Jul-2018 18:25 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Jul-2018 18:27 | harro | Updated [Narrative] |
| 14-Jul-2018 00:43 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 15-Jul-2018 21:10 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 17-Jul-2018 14:54 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code] |
| 17-Aug-2018 04:05 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 01-Oct-2019 18:06 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Country, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
| 01-Oct-2019 19:34 | harro | Updated [Country, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
| 18-Oct-2022 12:34 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Photo] |
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