# Accident 20031217037459A: Piper PA46500TP, Daytona Beach, FL, December 17, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 17, 2003, 09:34 local time
- Place: Daytona Beach, FL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Climb
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 29.1256° N, 81.2097° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.1256&lon=-81.2097&mi=10
- Aircraft: N155BM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N155BM-2018-01-10) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA46-500TP (registry code 7104622, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa46-500tp) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A series (registry code 52032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA46500TP
- Reported engine: PWC PT6A42A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 1,800 total, 35 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI04FA043](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI04FA043) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031217037459A

## Narrative

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

(-23) AT APPROXIMATELY 09:30 EST, MR. BILLY C. MEAZELL DEPARTED THE PRIVATE AIRPORT AT THE SPRUCE CREEK FLY-IN COMMUNITY NEAR DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA ON A VFR CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT TO LUFKIN, TEXAS IN HIS PIPER PA-46A-500TP MALIBU MERIDIAN AIRCRAFT N155BM. ON CLIMB TO ALTITUDE, N155BM WAS OBSERVED BY THE DAYTONA BEACH APPROACH CONTROL RADAR TO MAINTAIN ERRATIC ALTITUDE CONTROL AND ERRATIC TURNING MANEUVERS PRIOR TO THE AIRCRAFT SHARP DESCENT INTO THE TIGRE BAY REFUGE FOREST AREA WEST OF THE DAYTONA BEACH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. APPROACH CONTROL RADAR PICKED UP N155BM AT APPROXIMATELY 14:34Z AND LOST CONTACT AT 14:34Z. THERE WAS NO COMMUNICATION WITH N155BM DURING THE SIX MINUTES OF RADAR OBSERVATION. DAYTONA BEACH APPROACH CONFIRMED THAT N155BM'S TRANSPONDER WAS SET TO THE VFR 1200 CODE IN MODE C. THE AIRCRAFT CRASH LANDED IN THE TIGER BAY REFUGE WITH TWO FATALITIES. THE AIRCRAFT WAS TOTALLY DESTROYED. BASIC VFR METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.

## 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 CHI04FA043](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI04FA043), Dec 17, 2003: Piper PA46-500TP (N155BM), Daytona Beach, FL, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The unqualified pilot's continued flight into known instrument meteorological conditions which resulted in spatial disorientation and subsequent loss of aircraft control. Factors were the pilot's…

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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