# Accident 19971222039569A: Piper PA32301, Hampshire, IL, December 22, 1997 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 22, 1997, 18:51 local time - Place: Hampshire, IL - Airport: Casa De Aero Park Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Normal Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 42.0901° N, 88.5197° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.0901&lon=-88.5197&mi=10 - Aircraft: N2586Y, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2586Y-1998-09-12) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-32-301 (registry code 7103207, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-301) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA32301 - People aboard: 4 - Fatal injuries: 4 - Pilot flight hours: 400 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98FA070](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98FA070) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971222039569A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.4)THE PILOT RECEIVED A WEATHER BRIEFING, AND SUBSEQUENTLY FILED AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN TO THE CASA DE AERO AIRPORT, HAMPSHIRE, ILLINOIS. THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SPECIALIST ASKED THE PILOT IF HE HAD THE AIRMETS FOR TURBULENCE AND IFR CONDITIONS ALONG HIS ROUTE OF FLIGHT. THE PILOT RESPONDED, 'YEAH, TURBULENCE, ICING AND IFR, IT'S LOVELY.' WHILE EN ROUTE, THE PILOT CONTACTED THE KANKAKEE, ILLINOIS, FSS, AND REQUESTED WEATHER CONDITIONS AT DUPAGE COUNTY AIRPORT, WEST CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. THE PILOT WAS INFORMED THAT DUPAGE WAS 400 FEET AGL OVERCAST, 5 MILES VISIBILITY AND MIST, TEMPERATURE AND DEW POINT OF 1 DEGREE CELSIUS. THE PILOT THEN INQUIRED ABOUT THE WEATHER AT MADISON, WISCONSIN, AND WAS TOLD THE WEATHER WAS A BROKEN CEILING OF 800 FEET AGL, 1 1/2 MILE VISIBILITY WITH LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE, AND A TEMPERATURE OF MINUS 1 DEGREE CELSIUS. THE PILOT THEN CHECKED IN WITH THE CHICAGO TRACON AND REPORTED LEVEL AT 4,000 FEET MSL. AT 1838, THE CONTROLLER CLEARED THE PILOT FOR THE VOR ALPHA APPROACH INTO CASA DE AERO AIRPORT, AND SUBSEQUENTLY TOLD THE PILOT, 'FREQUENCY CHANGE IS APPROVED, AND BE SURE YOU GET TO ME TO CANCEL [THE IFR FLIGHT PLAN] PLEASE. I'M PROTECTING THE AIRSPACE.' AT 1848, THE AIRPLANE DROPPED BELOW RADAR COVERAGE AND WAS NOT HEARD FROM AGAIN. THE CONTROLLER SUSPECTED THAT THE AIRPLANE HAD LANDED. AT 2220, A SATELLITE MISSION CONTROL CENTER BEGAN RECEIVING THE AIRPLANE'S ELT SIGNAL. AT 0230 CST, A CAP GROUND TEAM NARROWED THE LOCATION OF THE ELT SIGNAL TO A FIELD BEHIND A RURAL RESIDENCE. WEATHER CONDITIONS PRECLUDED THE REVEALED AREAS OF RIME ICE, APPROXIMATELY 1/4 INCH THICK ADHERING TO THE LEADING EDGES OF THE LEFT AND RIGHT HORIZONTAL STABILATORS, THE LEADING EDGE OF THE VERTICAL STABILIZER, AND ALONG A 30-INCH SECTION OF THE LEADING EDGE OF THE RIGHT WING AT MID-SPAN. NO OTHER ANOMALIES WITH THE AIRPLANE WER REVEALED. (-23)FROM THE DEBRIS FOUND AT THE CRASH SITE, PILOT WAS AWARE OF ICING CONDITIONS IN THE AREA. IN TO COCKPIT WAS FOUND, A WRITTEN REPORT OF ICING CONDITIONS IN ROCKFORD - SAYING REPORTED RIME ICE AND THE ROCKFORD CURRENT WEATHER. ## 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 CHI98FA070](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98FA070), Dec 23, 1997: Piper PA-32-301 (N2586Y), Hampshire, IL, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's intentional flight into known icing conditions, and the accumulation of ice on the leading edges of the airplane's empennage and wings leading to the inadvertent stall/mush. A factor… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.