# Accident 20050910026029A: Piper PA32300, Wabash, IN, September 10, 2005

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 10, 2005, 21:45 local time
- Place: Wabash, IN
- Airport: Wabash Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.7603° N, 85.8067° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.7603&lon=-85.8067&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4032R, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4032R-2012-09-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32-300 (registry code 7103212, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-300) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA32300
- Reported engine: LYC TIO540*
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 4
- Pilot flight hours: 150 total, 0 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI05FA260](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI05FA260) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050910026029A

## Narrative

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

(-23) (NONE: AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED AND THERE WERE NO SURVIVING PARTIES TO THIS ACCIDENT, CONSEQUENTLY THIS NARRATIVE IS BASED SOLELY ON WITNESS STATEMENTS AND THE ON-SITE INVESTIGATION). AT APPROXIMATELY 21:45 LOCAL TIME, THE PILOT AND 3 PASSENGERS WERE RETURNING FROM ROCHESTER IN AND ATTEMPTED TO MAKE APPROACH AT NIGHT AT A SMALL UNCONTROLLED AIRPORT IN WABASH IN. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE RUNWAY LIGHTS WERE OFF WHEN THE PILOT MADE A HORSESHOE APPROACH AND WAS FIRST OBSERVED FROM THE NORTHEAST AND THEN CONTINUED WEST, THEN NORTH. A WITNESS STATED THAT THE THROTTLE WAS AT IDLE SPEED, AND THEN HEARD THE ENGINE SPUTTER, THEN GO INTO A HIGH RPM. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED AT REST APPROXIMATELY 1/4 MILE FROM THE AIRPORT RUNWAY AND WAS HEADED EAST. AT THE POINT OF IMPACT THERE WAS INDICATIONS THAT THE LEFT WING STRUCK FIRST AND APPROXIMATELY 25 FEET LATER THE PROPELLER STRUCK THE GROUND UNDER POWER. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST AND INVERTED APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET PAST INITIAL IMPACT. THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF FIRE AT IMPACT AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE. A HOMEOWNER AT THE SCENE ATTEMPTED TO RESCUE A MALE PASSENGER SEATED IN THE REAR SEAT BUT WAS UNABLE TO FREE HIM THE FROM THE WRECKAGE DUE TO HEAT AND OBSTRUCTIONS.

## 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 CHI05FA260](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI05FA260), Sep 11, 2005: Piper PA-32-300 (N4032R), Wabash, IN, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's spatial disorientation that resulted in his failure to maintain clearance from terrain. Factors to the accident were the pilot's lack of recent night experience and the hazy night…

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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