# Accident 19980203001519A: Piper PA34200, Graford, TX, February 3, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 3, 1998, 21:38 local time
- Place: Graford, TX
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.9374° N, 98.2475° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Graford, TX, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.9374&lon=-98.2475&mi=10
- Aircraft: N15566, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N15566-1998-08-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-34-200 (registry code 7103405, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-34-200) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA34200
- Reported engine: LYC IO360C1E6
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 9,000 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA117](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA117) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980203001519A

## Narrative

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

CIRCLED AIRPORT AT NIGHT IN DENSE FOG. IMPACTED 200 FT HIGH RIDGE NEAR AIRPORT. VFR PILOT ONLY. (.4)THE AIRPLANE WAS DISPATCHED TO PICK UP A STRANDED FLIGHTCREW THAT LANDED AT THE DESTINATION AIRPORT, 70 MILES FROM HOME BASE.  FOG HAD FORMED IN THE AREA. THE AIRPLANE CIRCLED THE AIRPORT, ABOVE THE FOG LAYER, BUT WAS UNABLE TO LAND DUE TO THE FOG.  AFTER CIRCLING THE AIRPORT, THE AIRPLANE WAS HEARD PROCEEDING EAST BOUND UNTIL THE SOUND OF THE ENGINES DISAPPEARED.  AN ELT SIGNAL WAS RECEIVED BY ANOTHER AIRPLANE ON THE 290 DEGREE RADIAL, 19 MILES FROM THE MILSAP VOR. THERE WERE NO REPORTED EYEWITNESSES.  THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED THE NEXT MORNING ON THE EASTERN LEDGE OF A GRANITE RIDGELINE OF A NORTH-SOUTH ORIENTED HILL RISING APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET ABOVE THE SURROUNDING TERRAIN.  THE WRECKAGE WAS SCATTERED FOR 270 FEET ON A HEADING OF 240 DEGREES.  SIGNATURES AT THE INITIAL POINT OF IMPACT INDICATE THAT THE AIRPLANE CONTACTED TREES AND TERRAIN IN CONTROLLED FLIGHT IN A SLIGHT LEFT WING DOWN ATTITUDE. FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS ESTABLISHED. THE LANDING GEAR AND FLAPS WERE FOUND IN THE RETRACTED POSITION.                                                                                (-23) ON FEBRUARY 3, 1998, AT APPROXIMATELY 9:35 PM, A PIPER SENECA, OWNED BY JAMES DAVIS AND JOHN WHITMORE, CRASHED DURING A NIGHT FLIGHT. WEATHER CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DEMOLISHED AND TWO FATALITIES OCCURRED. THE PILOT WAS A PRIVATE PILOT, AIRPLANE SINGLE, MULTIENGINE LAND. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT ARLINGTON AIRPORT, TEXAS (F54), AT 8:45 PM, FEBRUARY 3, 1998.

## 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 FTW98FA117](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA117), Feb 4, 1998: Piper PA-34-200 (N15566), Graford, TX, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the ground. Factors were the dark night, the rising terrain, and the ground fog obscuring the ground.

## Other reports on N15566 (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 19740811033239A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19740811033239A), Aug 11, 1974: Piper PA34200 (N15566), Perryton, TX, Substantial damage. Ownr notcd dmg to acft while arbrn. Acft prvsly flwn by other plts

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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