# Accident 20080512842639A: Piper PA32260, Cruso, NC, May 12, 2008

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 12, 2008
- Place: Cruso, NC
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.4053° N, 82.8453° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.4053&lon=-82.8453&mi=10
- Aircraft: N64FP, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N64FP-2013-08-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32-260 (registry code 7103206, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-260) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA32260
- Reported engine: LYC O540*
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 560 total, 0 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC08FA180](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC08FA180) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080512842639A

## Narrative

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

(-23) AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO SIDE OF COLD MOUNTAIN, APPROXIMATELY 23 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ASHEVILLE, NC.  AIRPLANE DEPARTED RUTHERFORDTON, NC (RUQ) AT APPROXIMATELY 0510 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME ENROUTE TO NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AK AIRPORT (KORK).  WEATHER IN ASHEVILLE, NC AIRPORT 30 MILES WEST OR RUQ AT THE TIME OF DEPARTURE WAS 3700 FEET BROKEN CLOUD COVERAGE, AND THE WINDS WERE 330 DEGREES AT 22 KNOTS GUSTING TO 31 KNOTS WITH A TEMPERATURE OF 11 DEGREES CELSIUS (52 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT) AND DEW POINT OF 04 DEGREES.  THE NON INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT WAS FLYING DURING A TIME WHEN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT CONDITIONS WERE PREVALENT THROUGHOUT THE REGION WITH CONVECTIVE WEATHER ASSOCIATED WITH A FRONTAL PASSAGE DOMINATED MOST OF THE DAY.  THE AIRPLANE CRASHED AT AN ELEVATION OF APPROXIMATELY 4700 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL WITH MOUNTAIN TOPS OF OVER 6200 FEET IN THE AREA.

## 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 NYC08FA180](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC08FA180), May 12, 2008: Piper PA-32-260 (N64FP), Cruso, NC, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions with moderate to severe turbulence prevailing. Contributing to the accident 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.

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