# Accident 20181025024919A: Piper PA-31T, Charleston, SC, October 25, 2018

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 25, 2018, 11:20 local time
- Place: Charleston, SC
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.6350° N, 72.8609° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.6350&lon=-72.8609&mi=10
- Aircraft: N555PM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N555PM-2022-01-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31T (registry code 7103124, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31t) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-60A (registry code 52043, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-60a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-31T
- Reported engine: P&W CANADA PT6A-60A
- People aboard: 5
- Fatal injuries: 5
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 2,778 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA19LA026](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA19LA026) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20181025024919A

## Narrative

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

ON OCTOBER 25, 2018, AT ABOUT 1119 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME APPROXIMATELY 100 MILES SOUTH EAST OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA (CHS), A PA-31T, N555PM WAS PRESUMED TO HAVE DISAPPEARED AFTER RADAR AND COMMUNICATION CONTACT WAS LOST.  THE COMMERCIAL PILOT AND FOUR

PASSENGERS WERE NEVER RECOVERED AND PRESUMED FATALLY INJURED. DAY VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE FLIGHT.  THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED FROM THE FAMILY'S PRIVATE AIRPARK IN ANDREWS, SOUTH CAROLINA AT ABOUT 1047  BOUND FOR GOVERNOR'S HARBOR AIRPORT, BAHAMAS (MYEM). THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91.

## 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 ERA19LA026](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA19LA026), Oct 25, 2018: Piper PA31T (N555PM), Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Ocean), destroyed, 5 fatal. Probable cause: An in-flight loss of control, which resulted in an impact with water, for reasons that could not be determined because the airplane was not recovered.

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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