# Accident 19980126000599A: Piper PA28*, Faribault, MN, January 26, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 26, 1998, 04:00 local time
- Place: Faribault, MN
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.2893° N, 93.2702° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.2893&lon=-93.2702&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5099W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5099W-2001-06-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28 (registry code 7102801, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28*
- Reported engine: LYC O320B2A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 75 total, 15 in this make and model, 15 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98FA086](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98FA086) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980126000599A

## Narrative

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

5099W DESTROYED DURING COLLISION WITH THE GROUND FOLLOWED UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES. NIGHT IFR IMC PREVAILED AT TIME. (.4)THE PILOT DEPARTED ON A NIGHT CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT AT 2230 CST.  THE AIRPLANE DID NOT ARRIVE AT ITS PLANNED DESTINATION AT 2330 CST ACCORDING TO THE WIFE OF THE PASSENGER.  THE WRECKAGE WAS FOUND ABOUT 4-MILES NORTHEAST OF AN AIRPORT THAT HAD BEEN REPORTING IFR CONDITIONS DURING THE TIME PERIOD THE AIRPLANE WAS EN ROUTE AND AFTER ITS PLANNED ARRIVAL. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRFRAME AND ENGINE REVEALED NO MECHANICAL ANOMALIES THAT WOULD PREVENT FLIGHT.  THE PILOT'S TOXICOLOGY REPORT SHOWED ABOUT 26-PERCENT CARBON MONOXIDE IN HIS BLOOD.  THE ENDS OF THE AIRPLANE'S MUFFLER WERE CORRODED AND HAD MANY PINHOLE-SIZED HOLES ALONG ITS EDGES. ITS SHROUD HAD BAKED OIL ON ITS INSIDE SURFACE.  THE MUFFLER HAD RUST ON BOTH SIDES OF ITS BODY.  THE AIRPLANE HAD FLOWN ABOUT 4-HOURS DURING THE YEAR BEFORE THE LATEST ANNUAL INSPECTION HAD BEEN CONDUCTED.  THE MECHANIC WHO HAD INSPECTED THE MUFFLER SAID HE HAD NOTICED SOME SMALL PINHOLE-SIZED HOLES AT THE MUFFLER'S END.  HE SAID HE DID NOT THINK THEY WERE SERIOUS OR WOULD CAUSE A PROBLEM.  THIS INSPECTIO                                    N WAS CONDUCTED ABOUT 2-MONTHS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. (-23)ON JANUARY 25, 1998, AT APPROXIMATELY 2145 CST, A PIPER PA-28-160, N5099W, FLOWN BY A PRIVATE PILOT, DEPARTED BRAINERD, MN UNDER VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) ON A PERSONAL 14 CFR PART 91 PLEASURE FLIGHT TO OWATONNA, MN.  ON JANUARY 25, 1998 AT APPROXIMATELY 2330 (CST), THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED DURING A COLLISION WITH THE GROUND FOLLOWING UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES.  THE FLIGHT WAS NOT OPERATING ON A FLIGHT PLAN.  INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PRVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.  THE OPERATING ON A FLIGHT PLAN.  INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.  THE PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURIED.  EIR INITIATED AGAINST IA MECHANIC WHO PERFORMED ANNUAL.

## 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 CHI98FA086](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98FA086), Jan 26, 1998: Piper PA-28-160 (N5099W), Faribault, MN, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: was the pilot's patial incapacitation due to carbon monoxide poisoning. A factor associated with this accident was the mechanic's inadequate inspection of the airplane's muffler and inadequate…

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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