# Accident 20020331009149A: Piper PA34200T, Raleigh-Durham, NC, March 31, 2002 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: March 31, 2002, 11:53 local time - Place: Raleigh-Durham, NC - Airport: Raleigh-Durham International - Damage: No damage - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 35.7722° N, 78.9317° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.7722&lon=-78.9317&mi=10 - Aircraft: N2BX, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2BX-2003-02-19) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-34-200T (registry code 7103406, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-34-200t) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental TSIO-360 series (registry code 17019, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-360-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA34200T - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL02FA069](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02FA069) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020331009149A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) N2BX WAS BEING VECTORED BY RDU APPROACH CONTROL; GIVEN A DESCENT FROM 9000' TO 4000' AND TOLD TO EXPECT VECTORS FOR RUNWAY 5R. RDU APPROACH INQUIRED OF N2BX IF THEY COULD "GET DOWN" BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE VECTORED FOR FINAL IN ABOUT 3 MILES. N2BX RESPONDED THAT THEY WOULD EXPEDITE DESCENT. VERY SHORTLY THEREAFTER, N2BX WAS GIVEN A TURN TO INTERCEPT THE FINAL APPROACH COURSE AND CLEARED FOR THE ILS TO 5R AND GIVEN DESCENT CLEARANCE TO MAINTAIN AT OR ABOVE 2400'. ACCORDING TO PLOTTING CHART FROM RDU TOWER, N2BX OVER SHOT THE FINAL FOR 5R AND WAS GIVEN A HEADING OF 090 TO RE-INTERCEPT THE 5R LOCALIZER. N2BX READ BACK ONLY PARTIALLY THE ASSIGNED HEADING "09". THIS WAS THE LAST RADIO TRANSMISSION FROM N2BX. LAST ALTITUDE RECORDED ON N2BX WAS TIME STAMPED 16:50:24 AT AN ALTITUDE OF 4100' AND 212 KTS. GROUND SPEED WITH AN APPROXIMATE WIND OF 230/20. RDU APPROACH INSTRUCTS N2BX TO TURN TO HEADING 090 TO RE-INTERCEPT THE 5R LOCALIZER AT 16:50:26. LAST RADIO TRANSMISSION FROM N2BX WAS AT 16:50:31 WHEN THE PILOT READ BACK PARTIALLY "09" THE ASSIGNED HEADING OF 090. (.19) ON MARCH 31, 2002, AT 1153 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-34-200T, N2BX, REGISTERED TO AND CO-OWNED BY THE PILOT, EXPERIENCED AN IN-FLIGHT BREAK-UP IN APEX, NORTH CAROLINA. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS OPERATED BY THE PRIVATE PILOT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 WITH AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) FLIGHT PLAN FILED. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT AND PASSENGER RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES, AND THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT MALCOLM MCKINNON AIRPORT IN BRUNSWICK, GEORGIA, AT 1000. THE FLIGHT WAS CLEARED FOR THE ILS RUNWAY 5R APPROACH AT RALEIGH-DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND WAS 9.3 NAUTICAL MILES FROM THE AIRPORT OUTSIDE THE OUTER MARKER. THE PILOT WAS GIVEN A RADAR VECTOR TO INTERCEPT THE LOCALIZER FOR RUNWAY 5R. WITNESSES IN THE AREA REPORTED HEARING AIRPLANE ENGINE NOISES, THEN SEEING THE AIRPLANE COME OUT OF THE FOG STRAIGHT DOWN, WITH ONE WING COMING DOWN SEPARATELY AND DEBRIS FALLING AFTER. INITIAL EXAMINATION FOUND THE WRECKAGE SCATTERED APPROXIMATELY THREE-QUARTERS OF A MILE THROUGHOUT A WOODED AND RESIDENTIAL AREA. THE CABIN AND EMPENNAGE SECTIONS OF THE FUSELAGE AND THE VERTICAL FIN WERE FOUND INVERTED IN A WOODED AREA WITH BOTH ENGINES IN CLOSE PROXIMITY. THE NOSE CONE WAS FOUND 530 FEET FROM THE FUSELAGE ON A BEARING OF 304 DEGREES MAGNETIC. THE MAJORITY OF THE LEFT WING OUTBOARD OF THE ENGINE NACELLE WAS FOUND 540 FEET FROM THE FUSELAGE ON A BEARING OF 081 DEGREES MAGNETIC. A PORTION OF THE OUTBOARD LEFT WING WITH THE STALL WARNING PORT WAS FOUND 740 FEET FROM THE FUSELAGE ON A BEARING OF 267 DEGREES MAGNETIC. THE TIP OF THE LEFT WING WAS FOUND 775 FEET FROM THE FUSELAGE ON A BEARING OF 288 DEGREES MAGNETIC. THE RIGHT WING OUTBOARD OF THE ENGINE NACELLE WAS FOUND 170 FEET FROM THE FUSELAGE ON A BEARING OF 308 DEGREES MAGNETIC. THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE HORIZONTAL STABILATOR WAS FOUND 395 FEET FROM THE FUSELAGE ON A BEARING OF 219 DEGREES MAGNETIC. PORTIONS OF THE LEFT HORIZONTAL STABILATOR WERE NOT LOCATED. ## 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 ATL02FA069](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02FA069), Mar 31, 2002: Piper PA-34-200T (N2BX), Apex, NC, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot experienced spatial disorientation that resulted in the loss of control and the overload failure of the airframe. A factor was low visibility and ceilings. ## Other reports on N2BX (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19950507016529I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19950507016529I), May 7, 1995: Piper PA34200T (N2BX), Hyannis, MA, Minor damage. Narrative: in a telephone conversation with Mr. Wyatt brown, he stated that he landed on r/w 33 at 5 p.m. on 5/7/95. At flare out he experienced a wind gust… 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.