# Accident 20040217003759A: Piper PA28180, Rich Hill, MO, February 17, 2004

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 17, 2004, 05:45 local time
- Place: Rich Hill, MO
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.0444° N, 94.2678° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.0444&lon=-94.2678&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7876W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7876W-2017-06-21) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-180 (registry code 7102808, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-180) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28180
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 158 total, 55 in this make and model, 32 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI04FA069](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI04FA069) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040217003759A

## Narrative

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

(-23) A NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER DEPARTED THE ALLEN COUNTY AIRPORT (K88), IOLA, KS, ON A PLANNED VFR FLIGHT TO THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS AIRPORT (SUS) IN ST. LOUIS, MO. THE PILOT RECEIVED A PREFLIGHT WEATHER BRIEFING FROM THE ICT AFSS AND WAS INFORMED THAT VFR WAS NOT RECOMMENDED. THE AIRCRAFT PROCEEDED AT 5,000 FT. MSL TILL REACHING THE FOUR RIVERS CONSERVATION AREA NEAR RICH HILL, MO, WHERE THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND AT APPROXIMATELY 0540 CST. THERE WERE NO EYEWITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT, BUT AREA RESIDENTS DESCRIBED THE WEATHER THAT MORNING AS VERY FOGGY, WITH VISIBILITIES OF LESS THAN 1/2 MILE.

## 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 CHI04FA069](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI04FA069), Feb 17, 2004: Piper PA-28-180 (N7876W), Rich Hill, MO, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: Spatial disorientation experienced by the non-instrument rated pilot due to a lack of visual references and his subsequent failure to maintain control of the aircraft. Contributing factors were the…

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.