# Accident 20121202026919A: Piper PA 46-350P, Greensburg, IN, December 2, 2012 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 2, 2012, 18:30 local time - Place: Greensburg, IN - Airport: Greensburg Municipal - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Landing: Approach - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 39.3405° N, 85.4805° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.3405&lon=-85.4805&mi=10 - Aircraft: N92315, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N92315-2018-02-20) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA 46-350P (registry code 7104620, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-46-350p) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA 46-350P - Reported engine: LYCOMING TI0-540-AE2A - People aboard: 4 - Fatal injuries: 4 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 400 total, 48 in this make and model, 48 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN13FA085](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13FA085) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20121202026919A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON DECEMBER 2, 2012, AT ABOUT 2319Z, A 1993 PIPER PA-46-350P WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT WITH TERRAIN WHILE ATTEMPTING AN APPROACH TO THE GREENSBURG MUNICIPAL AIRPORT IN GREENSBURG, IN (I34). THE PILOT AND THREE PASSENGERS ALL INCURRED FATAL INJURIES.INSTRUMENT METEORLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 PLEASURE FLIGHT WHICH HAD DEPARTED DESTIN - FORT WALTON BEACH AIRPORT (KDTS) AT ABOUT 2016Z AND WAS DESTINED FOR THE GREENSBURG MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. THE PILOT WAS IN CONTACT WITH CONTROLLERS AND HAD BEEN CLEARED FOR THE RNAV (GPS) RUNWAY 36 APPROACH. A REVIEW OF RADAR DATA REVEALED THE AIRCRAFT HAD FOLLOWED THE PUBLISHED APPROACH UNTIL DISAPPEARING FROM RADAR ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTH OF THE AIRPORT WHILE AT 1500 FEET. A WITNESS, LOCATED NEAR THE NORTH END OF THE RUNWAY, INDICATED THE AIRPLANE HAD FLOWN OVER HIS HOUSE IN A SOUTHERLY DIRECTION IN A LEFT TURN AT A VERY LOW ALTITUDE. HE REPORTED THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING NORMALLY AND HE COULD SEE THE NAVIGATION AND LANDING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. IT WAS SOON AFTER THAT HE WAS NOTIFIED THERE HAD BEEN A CRASH.THE AIRCRAFT WAS FOUND JUST EAST OF THE AIRPORT RUNWAY AT 0405Z ON 12/3/12. THE AIRPLANE INITIALLY IMPACTED A PLOWED FIELD AND TRAVELED 328 FEET ON A HEADING OF 115 DEGREES. THE LEFT WING WAS SEPARATED AT THE FUSELAGE AND THE OUTBOARD SECTION OF THE RIGHT WING WAS SEPARATED. BOTH SIDES OF THE HORIZONTAL AND ELEVATOR WERE SEPARATED AND THE EMPENNAGE SECTION WAS SEPARATED AFT OF THE PRESSURE BULKHEAD. DAMAGE TO THE AIRFRAME WAS CONSISTENT WITH A LEFT WING LOW IMPACT ANGLE. ALL AIRFRAME, ENGINE AND PROPELLER COMPONENTS WERE LOCATED ALONG THE DEBRIS LINE. CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS VERIFIED EXCEPT FOR THE AILERON AND BALANCE CABLES FROM THE SEPARATED LEFT WING. BOTH CABLES EXHIBITED A BROOMSTRAW SEPARATION CONSISTENT WITH AN OVERLOAD SEPARATION. THE PITCH TRIM DRUM INNER SHAFT EXTENSION WAS CONSISTENT WITH A 25% NOSE DOWN SETTING. THE FLAP JACKSCREW POSITION WAS CONSISTENT WITH A 10 DEGREE SETTING AND THE LANDING GEAR SWITCH WAS DOWN AND THE GEAR ACTUATORS WERE IN THE EXTENDED POSITION. THE FUEL TANKS WERE FRAGMENTED AND NO FUEL WAS FOUND. FUEL HOWEVER WAS FOUND IN THE ENGINE SERVO, FUEL PUMP AND ENGINE FUEL SUPPLY LINES. ENGINE CONTINUITY WAS VERIFIED, THUMB COMPRESSION AND SUCTION WERE OBTAINED ON ALL CYLINDERS AND ACCESSORY GEAR ROTATION WAS NOTED. MANUAL ROTATION OF THE MAGNETOS NOTED SPARK FROM ALL TOWERS.THE EXAMINATION OF THE AIRFRAME AND ENGINE REVEALED NO ANOMALIES THAT WOULD HAVE PRECLUDED NORMAL OPERATION PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT.THE NEAREST WEATHER REPORTING STATION WAS LOCATED AT THE COLUMBUS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, COLUMBUS IN, APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE CRASH SITE. AT 2250 THEY REPORTED WEATHER HAD DETERIORATED TO 1½ MILES VISIBILITY IN MIST WITH A CEILING OF 300 FEET WITH A TEMPERATURE AND DEWPOINT BOTH AT 14C. WITNESSES NEAR THE GREENSBURG AIRPORT ESTIMATED THE WEATHER TO BE 300 FEET AND ¼ MILE VISIBILITY IN FOG AND MIST AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE END OF CIVIL TWILIGHT THAT DAY WAS 2249 (5:49 PM). NO RECORD OF RUNWAY LIGHT ACTIVATION WAS FOUND. ## 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 CEN13FA085](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13FA085), Dec 2, 2012: Piper PA 46-350P (N92315), Greensburg, IN, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control while maneuvering in night instrument meteorological conditions due to spatial disorientation. 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.