# Accident 20120708015799A: Piper PA-42, Beckley, WV, July 8, 2012

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 8, 2012, 21:13 local time
- Place: Beckley, WV
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Climb
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.7856° N, 81.1211° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.7856&lon=-81.1211&mi=10
- Aircraft: N332SM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N332SM-2022-06-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-42 (registry code 7104202, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-42) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A series (registry code 52032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-42
- Reported engine: P&W PT6A SER
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 4,300 total, 420 in this make and model, 89 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA12LA435](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12LA435) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120708015799A

## Narrative

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

CHARLESTON AIRPORT, WV (CRW): N332SM, A PA-42 CHEYENNE III, LOST GYROS AFTER ENCOUNTERING UNDETECTED SEVERE CONVECTIVE ACIVITY AND RETURNED AND LANDED ON RUNWAY 5. PRIOR TO LANDING THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED CLIMBING OUT OF 18,000 FEET AND WITHIN A MINUTE ASCENDED TO 21,000 FEET, AND DESCENDED TO 8,000 FEET RESULTING IN DAMAGE TO THE ELEVATORS. POB: 3, INJURIES: NONE, DAMAGE: SUSTANTIALSEE ATTACHED PILOT STATEMENT

## 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 ERA12LA435](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12LA435), Jul 9, 2012: Piper PA-42 (N332SM), Charleston, WV, substantial damage. Probable cause: The airplane’s encounter with a gravity-wave duct atmospheric phenomenon.

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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