# Accident 19960214005779A: Piper PA28140, Brookston, IN, February 14, 1996

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 14, 1996, 19:00 local time
- Place: Brookston, IN
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.6007° N, 86.8607° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.6007&lon=-86.8607&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4612F, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4612F-1996-09-09) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-140 (registry code 7102802, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-140) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28140
- Reported engine: LYC O320E2D
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 164 total, 52 in this make and model, 51 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI96FA090](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI96FA090) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960214005779A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(TTY) WRECKAGE DISCOVERED BY STATE POLIC4E, AIRCRAFT WAS NOT REPORTED MISSING. (.19) ON FEBRUARY 14, 1996, AT 1900 EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST), A PIPER, PA-28-140, N4612F, OPERATED BY A PRIVATE PILOT, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED THE TERRAIN NEAR BROOKSTON, INDIANA.  INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.  THE FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91.  A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT ON FILE.  THE PILOT SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT LAFAYETTE, INDIANA, AT 1830 EST, AND WAS EN ROUTE TO GARY, INDIANA.                                     (.4)PRIOR TO TAKEOFF, THE PILOT CALLED HIS GIRLFRIEND AND ASKED HER TO PICK HIM UP AT GARY MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, GARY, INDIANA, IN ONE HOUR.  ONE HOUR AND 45 MINUTES LATER, THE GIRLFRIEND CONTACTED THE GARY AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER, WHO ADVISED HER THAT THEY HAD HAD NO CONTACT WITH THE PILOT.  THE WRECKAGE WAS DISCOVERED THE FOLLOWING MORNING.  THE PILOT RECEIVED A FLIGHT SERVICE STATION BRIEFING PRIOR TO TAKEOFF.  THE BRIEFING INCLUDED LOW CEILINGS AND SNOW SHOWERS ALONG THE PILOT'S ROUTE OF FLIGHT.  A WITNESS REPORTED SEEING 'FAST-MOVING SNOW SHOWERS' IN WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA, BETWEEN 1900 A ND 1930 EST. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO ANOMALIES WITH THE AIRPLANE.  THE PILOT RECEIVED HIS INSTRUMENT RATING ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT.  THE PILOT'S LOGBOOK SHOWED 2.8 HOURS OF ACTUAL INSTRUMENT TIME.  THE PILOT'S INSTRUMENT FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR SAID THE FIRST TIME THE PILOT ENCOUNTERED ACTUAL INSTRUMENT CONDITIONS, HE BECAME DISORIENTED.                 (-23) ON FEBRUARY 14, 1996, PILOT DAVID Q. WASHINGTON, FLYING A PIPER PA-28-140, N4612F, DEPARTED LAFAYETTE, INDIANA, ENROUTE TO GARY, INDIANA. THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO A FIELD APPROXIMATELY 12 NAUTICAL MILES FROM DEPARTURE POINT. AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND AT APPROXIMATELY 85 DEGREES NOSE DOWN AND SLIGHTLY RIGHT WING LOW, BOUNCED ONCE AND CAME TO REST APPROXIMATELY 75 FEET FROM IMPACT POINT; THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. PILOT RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI96FA090](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI96FA090), Feb 15, 1996: Piper PA-28-140 (N4612F), Brookston, IN, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's disregard for the forecast adverse weather conditions, his inadvertent flight into adverse weather conditions, and his disorientation. Factors relating to this accident were the pilot's…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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