# Accident 20150204002409A: Piper PA46-500TP, Lubbock, TX, February 4, 2015

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 4, 2015, 19:30 local time
- Place: Lubbock, TX
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Other, Specify
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.5433° N, 101.8356° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.5433&lon=-101.8356&mi=10
- Aircraft: N301D, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N301D-2018-03-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA46-500TP (registry code 7104622, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa46-500tp) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A series (registry code 52032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA46-500TP
- Reported engine: P&W PT6A SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN15FA135](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15FA135) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150204002409A

## Narrative

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

ON FEBRUARY 4, 2015, AT 1930 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA46-500TP AIRPLANE, N301D, COLLIDED WITH

A TV TOWER GUY WIRE WHILE ON APPROACH TO LUBBOCK PRESTON SMITH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (LBB), LUBBOCK,

TEXAS. THE PILOT, WHO WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT, WAS FATALLY INJURED AND THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE

AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL.  THE FLIGHT WAS A PRIVATE FLIGHT.  INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS

PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT AND AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED EN ROUTE. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED THE CAVERN CITY AIR TERMINAL (CNM), CARLSBAD, NEW MEXICO EN ROUTE TO LBB.

ACCORDING TO THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL RECORDING, THE PILOT WAS EXECUTING THE RNAV INSTRUMENT APPROACH

TO RUNWAY 35L. THE CONTROLLER VECTORED THE AIRPLANE OFF THE FIRST APPROACH FOR RE-SEQUENCING. WHILE THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING VECTORED FOR A SECOND APPROACH, CONTACT WITH THE PILOT WAS LOST AND THE

AIRPLANE WAS NO LONGER VISIBLE ON THE RADAR DISPLAY. ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT THE PILOT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL.

AT 1853, THE WEATHER OBSERVATION FOR LBB, WHICH WAS 10 MILES NORTH OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, REPORTED WIND

FROM 30° AT 21 KNOTS GUSTING TO 31 KNOTS, 8 MILES VISIBILITY, OVERCAST CLOUD LAYER AT 800 FEET,

TEMPERATURE 28° FAHRENHEIT (F), DEW POINT 25° F, AND ALTIMETER 30.24 INCHES OF MERCURY. REMARKS: PEAK

WIND FROM 20° AT 34 KNOTS AND OCCASIONAL BLOWING DUST.

AT 1947, THE SPECIAL WEATHER OBSERVATION FOR LBB REPORTED WIND FROM 40° AT 18 KNOTS GUSTING TO 27

KNOTS, 7 MILES VISIBILITY, OVERCAST CLOUD LAYER AT 700 FEET, TEMPERATURE 28° F, DEW POINT 25° F, AND

ALTIMETER 30.28 INCHES OF MERCURY.

## 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 CEN15FA135](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15FA135), Feb 5, 2015: Piper PA46 500TP (N301D), Lubbock, TX, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's loss of airplane control due to spatial disorientation and light ice accumulation while operating in night, instrument meteorological conditions with gusting wind.

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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