# Accident 20150614009359A: Piper PA-32-300, Cuba, MO, June 14, 2015

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 14, 2015, 07:46 local time
- Place: Cuba, MO
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.0783° N, 91.4369° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.0783&lon=-91.4369&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2966X, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2966X-2018-03-09) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32-300 (registry code 7103212, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-300) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-540 series (registry code 41530, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-32-300
- Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-540 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,203 total, 1,000 in this make and model, 15 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN15FA268](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15FA268) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150614009359A

## Narrative

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

ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015 AT 07:46 CDT, A 1979 PIPER SARATOGA PA-32-300, N2966X WAS DESTROYED UPON IMPACTING THE GROUND NEAR CUBA, MO.  THE AIRCRAFT HAD DEPARTED THE BRANSON WEST AIRPORT (KFWB) ON AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN TO CREVE COUER AIRPORT (1H0) WHEN IT ENTERED AN AREA OF CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY AND SUFFERED AN IN-FLIGHT BREAK UP. THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND AND ONE DOG WERE FATALLY INJURED.  SEVERAL EYEWITNESSES REPORTED THE AIRCRAFT LEAVING THE CLOUDS IN A NEAR VERTICAL ATTITUDE, DEBRIS IN TRAIL, FOLLOWED BY A LOUD CRASH SOUND.  FAA AND NTSB INVESTIGATORS ARRIVED ON SCENE TO FIND A MAIN CRASH SITE WHICH REVEALED A HIGH ANGLE, HIGH VELOCITY IMPACT AFTER PENETRATING A CANOPY OF TREES.  A SECONDARY CRASH SITE WAS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 1600 FEET NORTHWEST CONTAINING THE LEFT WING, HORIZONTAL STABILIZER, AND OTHER AIRCRAFT PARTS, INDICATING THESE COMPONENTS SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT PRIOR TO ITS IMPACT WITH THE GROUND.  THE PILOT WAS IN RADAR AND RADIO CONTACT WITH THE KANSAS CITY AIR ROUTE TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTER (ZKC ARTCC) A REVIEW OF THE AUDIO RECORDING REVEALED THE PILOT RECEIVED A WARNING ABOUT MODERATE TO HEAVY AREAS OF PRECIPITATION ALONG THE ROUTE OF FLIGHT.  THE PILOT WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT AT 5,000 FEET MSL AND ACKNOWLEDGED THE WEATHER IN THE AREA. AT 07:45 CDT HE STATED HE OBSERVED WEATHER ON HIS STORMSCOPE AND ADDED HE WAS "GETTING NO BUMPS, JUST PRECIPITATION."  AT 07:46 CDT THE ARTCC LOST RADAR CONTACT WITH THE AIRCRAFT AND WAS UNABLE TO MAKE RADIO CONTACT.  RADAR AND WEATHER DATA OBTAINED BY THE NTSB REVEALED THE AIRCRAFT LOST RADAR CONTACT IN AN AREA BETWEEN TWO THUNDERSTORM CELLS CONTAINING AREAS OF HEAVY PRECIPITATION.  PILOT LOGBOOK FOUND AT THE ACCIDENT SCENE REVEALED THE PILOT WAS LEGAL TO FLY AS PILOT-IN-COMMAND IN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT CONDITIONS.  AIRCRAFT LOGBOOKS WERE NOT LOCATED. HOWEVER, THE AIRCRAFT MECHANIC PROVIDED INVESTIGATORS THE MOST RECENT ANNUAL INSPECTION LOGBOOK ENTRY DATED OCTOBER 9, 2014 WHICH REVEALED THE AIRCRAFT WAS IN AN AIRWORTHY CONDITION AT THE TIME.

## 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 CEN15FA268](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15FA268), Jun 14, 2015: Piper PA 32 (N2966X), Cuba, MO, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's continued flight into thunderstorm activity, which resulted in his loss of airplane control, the exceedance of the airplane's design limits, and its subsequent in-flight breakup.…

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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