# Accident 20151210018769A: Piper PA46-500TP, Council Bluffs, IA, December 10, 2015 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 10, 2015, 11:51 local time - Place: Council Bluffs, IA - Airport: Eppley Airfield - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Landing: Approach - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 41.2922° N, 95.8672° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.2922&lon=-95.8672&mi=10 - Aircraft: N145JR, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N145JR-2017-01-05) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA46-500TP (registry code 7104622, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa46-500tp) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42 (registry code 52062, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-42) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA46-500TP - Reported engine: P&W CANADA PT6A-42 - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 4,835 total, 199 in this make and model, 6 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN16FA062](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16FA062) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20151210018769A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON DECEMBER 10, 2015, AT APPROXIMATELY 1151 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, PIPER MERIDIAN PA46-500TP WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING A COLLISION WITH A WOODEN POWER POLE, ELECTRICAL POWER TRANSMISSION LINES AND TERRAIN. THE PILOT DEPARTED FROM EPPLEY AIRFIELD OMAHA, NEBRASKA (OMA) AT APPROXIMATELY 1149 LOCAL WITH A DESTINATION OF TRINIDAD, COLORADO (TAD). THE PILOT WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT. THE PILOT HAD DEPARTED ABOUT 1151 LOCAL AND ACCORDING TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) THE PILOT REQUESTED TO RETURN TO EPPLEY AIRFIELD DUE TO AN ATTITUDE HEADING REFERENCE SYSTEM (AHRS) MISCOMMUNICATION. OMAHA ATC ASKED THE PILOT IF HE NEEDED ASSISTANCE. THE PILOT RESPONDED, ?NO?. THE PILOT WAS GIVEN RIGHT TRAFFIC AND WAS CLEARED TO LAND ON RUNWAY 32R. THERE WAS NO FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE PILOT AND ATC. THE INITIAL IMPACT OF THE AIRCRAFT INDICATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A WOODEN POWER POLE AND ELECTRICAL POWER TRANSMISSION LINES. A SECTION OF THE WOODEN POWER POLE OUTRIGGER WAS BROKEN OFF AND FOUND NEAR THE BASE OF THE POLE. AN ELECTRICAL POWER TRANSMISSION LINE WAS SEVERED BY THE AIRCRAFT AND WAS LYING IN THE GRASS UNDER THE WOODEN POWER POLE. AIRCRAFT PAINT CHIPS AND DEBRIS WAS FOUND NEAR THE ELECTRICAL POWER TRANSMISSION LINES. ALSO FOUND NEAR THE DAMAGED WOODEN POWER POLE WAS A SECTION OF THE RIGHT WING APPROXIMATELY 8 FEET IN LENGTH, THE RIGHT WING TIP, AND THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR DOOR. THE RIGHT WING TIP HAD A PIECE OF THE WOODEN POWER POLE EMBEDDED IN IT. THE SEVERED SECTION OF THE RIGHT WING SHOWED EVIDENCE OF POWER LINE MARKS ON THE LEADING EDGE AND TOP SURFACE OF SKIN. THE MAIN WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED IN THE MEDIAN OF INTERSTATE HIGHWAY I-29 BETWEEN THE NORTH AND SOUTH BOUND LANES, APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE FROM RUNWAY 32R. LEAKING JET FUEL SATURATED THE AREA AROUND THE WRECKAGE. THERE WERE NO INDICATIONS OF FIRE. THE LEFT WING WAS SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT AND LAYING APPROXIMATELY 10 FEET IN FRONT (WEST) OF THE FUSELAGE. THERE WAS A LARGE GROUND SCAR NEAR THE FUSELAGE THAT INDICATED THE LEFT WING HAD CONTACTED THE TERRAIN LEAVING A DEPRESSION IN THE SOIL. THE AIRCRAFT PROPELLER WAS SEPARATED FROM THE ENGINE AND LAYING APPROXIMATELY FIFTEEN FEET TO THE NORTH OF THE MAIN WRECKAGE. THE PROPELLER WAS FOUND IN A CRATER (APPROXIMATELY 2 FEET DEEP AND 6 FEET WIDE) WITH ALL FOUR BLADES AND SPINNER INTACT. THE PROPELLER BLADES WERE BENT BACK NEAR THE ROOT OF THE BLADE AND THE PROPELLER SPINNER WAS IMPRESSED INTO THE PROPELLER HUB AS A RESULT OF THE IMPACT WITH THE TERRAIN. THERE WERE NO REPORTED INJURIES TO PERSONS ON THE GROUND OR IN VEHICLES AT THAT 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 CEN16FA062](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16FA062), Dec 10, 2015: Piper PA46 500TP (N145JR), Council Bluffs, IA, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from power lines while returning to the airport after becoming distracted by a noncritical flight instrumentation anomaly indication. ## Other reports on N145JR (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 20130125017969I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130125017969I), Jan 25, 2013: Piper PA46-500TP (N145JR), Olathe, KS, Minor damage. The pilot stated that after crossing the threshold to runway 36 at Johnson County Executive Airport (ojc), he reduced power to idle and began the landing… 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.