# Accident 20000326006889A: Piper PA24260, Panama City, FL, March 26, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 26, 2000, 18:30 local time
- Place: Panama City, FL
- Airport: Panama City-Bay County
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.2278° N, 85.7197° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.2278&lon=-85.7197&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9204P, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9204P-2000-09-01) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-24-260 (registry code 7102406, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-260) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA24260
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA00FA118](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00FA118) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000326006889A

## Narrative

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

(-23) MISHAP A/C DEPARTED JASPER AIRPORT, AL. DESTINATION BAY COUNTY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (PFN), PANAMA CITY, FL. WITH AN ENROUTE STOP AT LUVERNE, AL. (04A). INBOUND TO PFN THE MISHAP PILOT ENCOUNTERED MODERATE TO SEVERE WEATHER. PILOT WAS APPROX. SIX MILES NW OF THE AIRPORT AND IN CONTACT WITH PFN TOWER CONTROLLER. PFN RELAYED TO PILOT THAT CEILING WAS 800 FEET AND FIELD WAS IFR. PFN ASKED PILOT IF THE AIRPORT WAS IN SIGHT. THE PILOT REPORTED HE WAS VFR FLIGHT AT 900 FEET, RUNWAY NOT IN SIGHT. PFN TOWER CONTROLLER DIRECTED THE A/C TO TURN NORTH AND CONTACT JACKSONVILLE ARTCC (ZJX). CONTACT WAS NADE WITH ZJX, THEY DIRECTED THE A/C TO CLIMB AND ESTABLISH VFR. APPARENTLY THE MISHAP PILOT BECAME DIRORIENTED WHILE IN A LEFT TURN AND FLEW INTO THE WATER. THE A/C DISAPPEARED FROM RADAR AT 1813 HOURS AND 8 SECONDS. THE A/C IMPACTED THE WATER APPROX. 3 MILES NW OF THE AIRPORT AND WAS DESTROYED. WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED IN WEST BAY AREA WITHIN A THREE HUNDRED FEET RADIUS OF IMPACT POINT.

## 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 MIA00FA118](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00FA118), Mar 27, 2000: Piper PA-24-260 (N9204P), Panama City, FL, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot experiencing spatial disorientation while reversing course during a dark night while over water which resul;ted in an in-flight collision with water. A factor was the dark night lighting…

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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