# Accident 20160425006679A: Piper PA-32-300, Boone, NC, April 25, 2016

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 25, 2016, 13:00 local time
- Place: Boone, NC
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.1994° N, 81.6467° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.1994&lon=-81.6467&mi=10
- Aircraft: N43576, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N43576-2019-03-02) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32-300 (registry code 7103212, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-300) (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-32-300
- Reported engine: LYCOMING TI0-540 SER
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 2
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 700 total, 560 in this make and model, 27 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA16FA169](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA16FA169) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160425006679A

## Narrative

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

ON APRIL 25, 2016, ABOUT 1300 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-32-300, N43576, WAS DESTROYED AFTER A COLLISION WITH TREES, TERRAIN AND POST-CRASH FIRE IN BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA. THE PILOT AND PILOT-RATED PASSENGER WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED. THE REAR SEAT PASSENGER WAS FATALLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PART 91 FLIGHT. THE AIRPLANE WAS ORIGINATING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT FROM BOONE INC. AIRPORT (NC14), BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA.

ACCORDING TO A WITNESS AT THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 31, HE STATED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS APPROACHING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED PRIOR TO LANDING. HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT HE DID NOT SEE THE AIRPLANE TOUCHDOWN, BUT SHORTLY AFTER HE SAW A PLUME OF SMOKE ON A GOLF COURSE. ANOTHER WITNESS THAT WAS IN A HOUSE ON A HILL ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE DEPARTURE END OF RUNWAY 31, STATED THAT WHEN THEY SAW THE AIRPLANE, THE LEFT WING WAS LOW AND IT COLLIDED WITH A PINE TREE. THEY SAID THAT THE AIRPLANE SEEMED AS IF IT WAS ATTEMPTING TO GAIN ALTITUDE BUT COLLIDED WITH ANOTHER PINE TREE BEFORE DESCENDING AND COLLIDED WITH THE GOLF COURSE. WITNESSES ON THE GOLF COURSE REPORTED THAT THEY WATCHED THE AIRPLANE CLIMBOUT; THEY WENT ON TO SAY THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS ?BOBBLING? UP AND DOWN BEFORE HITTING THE TOP OF A STAND OF PINE TREES. THE AIRPLANE NOSED DOWN AND COLLIDED OF THE GOLF COURSE BEFORE BURSTING INTO FLAMES.

PILOT FLIGHT LOG WAS DESTROYED IN FIRE.

PILOT TIMES ARE ESTIMATED OFF OF PILOT TOTAL TIME AT LAST MEDICAL EXAMINATION AND AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE RECORDS

## 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 ERA16FA169](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA16FA169), Apr 25, 2016: Piper PA32 (N43576), Boone, NC, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's delayed decision to conduct a go-around following an unstabilized landing approach and his subsequent failure to maintain clearance from trees near the end of the runway.

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.