# Accident 20020309009139A: Piper PA28160, Greenwood, SC, March 9, 2002 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: March 9, 2002, 04:52 local time - Place: Greenwood, SC - Airport: Greenwood County Airport - Damage: No damage - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 34.5833° N, 81.9500° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.5833&lon=-81.9500&mi=10 - Aircraft: N160D, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N160D-2017-07-17) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28-160 (registry code 7102806, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-160) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28160 - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL02FA063](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02FA063) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020309009139A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ON MARCH 9, 2002, A PIPER PA-28-160, N160D, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND AT 0453 EASTERN STANDARD TIME WHILE MANEUVERING FOR AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH TO THE GREENWOOD COUNTY AIRPORT (GRD), SC. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AFTER IMPACTING TERRAIN IN LAURENS, SC, APPROXIMATELY 14 NAUTICAL MILES NORTH (BEARING 004) OF THE INTENDED DESTINATION, GREENWOOD COUNTY AIRPORT. THE INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. THE AIRCRAFT HAD DEPARTED HARRISON COUNTY AIRPORT (8G6) AT 0130. THE CLOUD CEILING REPORTED AT GRD WAS 600 FEET AT 0456 EASTERN STANDARD TIME. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT PROPELLER, SPINNER, AND SCORING OF OTHER COMPONENTS INDICATE THE AIRCRAFT ENGINE WAS OPERATIONAL AT IMPACT. (.19) ON MARCH 9, 2002, AT 0453 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-28-160, N160D, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND WHILE MANEUVERING FOR AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH TO THE GREENWOOD AIRPORT NEAR LAURENS, SOUTH CAROLINA. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS OPERATED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 WITH AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT PLAN. INSTRUMENT WEATHER CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED HARRISON COUNTY, OHIO, AT 0130. ACCORDING TO AN EAR-WITNESS, AT APPROXIMATELY 0450 HE HEARD THE SOUND OF AN AIRPLANE CIRCLING NEAR HIS HOME. ANOTHER WITNESS STATED THAT THE SOUND OF THE ENGINE RUNNING WAS HEARD THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE TIME THE AIRPLANE WAS OVERHEAD. SEVERAL MINUTES LATER, A "LOUD THUD" WAS HEARD. WHEN THE WITNESS LOOKED OUTSIDE HIS HOME IN THE DIRECTION OF THE THUD, HE DID NOT SEE ANYTHING. THE WITNESS ALSO OBSERVED A FOGGY WEATHER CONDITION AS HE LOOKED IN THE DIRECTION OF THE THUD. AT APPROXIMATE THE SAME TIME, ATLANTA CENTER REPORTED A LOSS OF RADAR CONTACT WITH N160D. THE DOWNED AIRPLANE WAS LOCATED SEVERAL HOURS LATER FOLLOWING A GROUND AND AIR SEARCH. EXAMINATION OF THE ACCIDENT SITE SHOWED THAT WRECKAGE DEBRIS WAS SCATTERED OVER AN AREA 110 FEET LONG AND 30 FEET WIDE. THE WRECKAGE PATH WAS ORIENTED ON A 005 DEGREE MAGNETIC HEADING. FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE OF THE ACCIDENT SITE REVEALED THAT THE ENGINE AND PROPELLER ASSEMBLIES WERE BURIED ABOUT FOUR FEET INTO THE GROUND IN A NEAR PERPENDICULAR NOSE DOWNATTITUDE. ## 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 ATL02FA063](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02FA063), Mar 9, 2002: Piper PA-28-160 (N160D), Laurens, SC, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot experienced spatial disorientation, which resulted in a loss of control and the subsequent collision with terrain. Factors were low clouds and dark-night. ## Other reports on N160D (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19910316005559I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19910316005559I), Mar 16, 1991: Piper PA28160 (N160D), Carrollton, OH, Minor damage. Collided with a large doberman pincher on takeoff roll. 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.