# Accident 19980809029659A: Piper PA28R200, Newhampton, IA, August 9, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 9, 1998, 21:20 local time
- Place: Newhampton, IA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Scud Running
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.0503° N, 92.3108° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.0503&lon=-92.3108&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9350N, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9350N-2000-01-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28R-200 (registry code 7102811, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28r-200) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28R200
- Reported engine: LYC IO360C1C
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 3
- Pilot flight hours: 120 total, 4 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98FA309](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98FA309) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980809029659A

## Narrative

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

(-23) THE PRIVATE PILOT, MR. HARNACK, WAS NOT INSTRUMENT RATED. HE HAD RECEIVED A WEATHER BRIEFING PRIOR TO DEPARTURE.  DURING THE FLIGHT IT APPEARS HE INADVERTENTLY FLEW INTO A POSSIBLE AREA OF EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS AND IMC CONDITIONS.  CAUGHT IN THE DARK, WITHOUT AN INSTRUMENT RATING, THE PILOT EITHER BECAME DISORIENTED AND PUT UNDO STRESS ON THE AIRCRAFT OR FLEW INTO A THUNDERSTORM AND THE AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED AN IN-FLIGHT BREAK UP.         (.4) THE FLIGHT DEPARTED AIRLAKE AIRPORT, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA  EN ROUTE TO ROCK COUNTY AIRPORT, JANESVILLE, WISCONSIN. ACCORDING TO RADAR DATA, THE IMAGES SHOWED ACTIVITY IN THE AREA OF THE ACCIDENT SITE.  INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.  THE PILOT DID NOT POSSESS AN AIRPLANE INSTRUMENT RATING.  AT 1928 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A PERSON, WHO STATED THAT HIS AIRCRAFT WAS N9350N RECEIVED A VISUAL FLIGHT RULE WEATHER BRIEFING  THE BRIEFER REPORTED THAT A NORTHEAST SOUTHWEST ORIENTATED COLD FRONT WAS MOVING THROUGH THE AREA, AHEAD OF WHICH WAS A HUGE AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS AND RAIN SHOWERS WHICH STARTED AROUND ROCHESTER AND EXTENDED TO THE STEVEN'S POINT AREA. THE CALLER REPORTED, DURING HIS WEATHER B RIEFING, THAT HE WAS LOOKING AT THE RADAR OF CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY ON A SCREEN IN FRONT OF HIM. THERE WERE NO RADIO COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT AND FLIGHT WATCH OR MINNEAPOLIS CENTER. THE WRECKAGE WAS FOUND OVER A 1,350 FOOT BY 1,030 FOOT AREA. BOTH WINGS, VERTICAL STABILIZER AND LEFT HALF OF THE STABILATOR WERE NOT LOCATED WITH THE AIRCRAFT'S FUSELAGE AND EXHIBITED DEFORMATION AT THEIR SEPARATION POINTS.

## 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 CHI98FA309](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98FA309), Aug 10, 1998: Piper PA-28R-200 (N9350N), New Hampton, IA, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate preflight/planning inspection and his continued flight into known adverse weather conditions that led to spatial disorientation and loss of aircraft control. Also causal was…

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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