# Accident 20191228016389A: Piper PA-31T, Lafayette, LA, December 28, 2019 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 28, 2019, 09:20 local time - Place: Lafayette, LA - Airport: Lafayette Regional - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 30.1761° N, 92.0075° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.1761&lon=-92.0075&mi=10 - Aircraft: N42CV, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N42CV-2022-01-08) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-31T (registry code 7103124, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31t) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: U/A Canada PT6A-27-28 (registry code 61504, https://openairdocs.org/engine/u-a-canada-pt6a-27-28) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-31T - Reported engine: U/A CANADA PT6A-27-28 - People aboard: 6 - Fatal injuries: 5 - Other injuries: 2 - Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot - Pilot flight hours: 1,531 total, 736 in this make and model, 69 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN20MA044](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20MA044) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20191228016389A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON DECEMBER 28, 2019, ABOUT 921 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA 31T AIRPLANE, N42CV, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED TERRAIN SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM LAFAYETTE REGIONAL AIRPORT/PAUL FOURNET FIELD (LFT), LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT AND FOUR PASSENGERS WERE FATALLY INJURED; ONE PASSENGER SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. TWO INDIVIDUALS INSIDE A BUILDING SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES AND ONE INDIVIDUAL IN A CAR SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT FORCES AND A POSTIMPACT FIRE. THE AIRPLANE WAS OWNED BY CHEYENNE PARTNERS LLC AND WAS PILOTED BY A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE FLIGHT. THE FLIGHT WAS ORIGINATING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT AND WAS EN ROUTE TO DEKALB-PEACHTREE AIRPORT (PDK), ATLANTA, GEORGIA. THE PILOT CONTACTED THE LFT GROUND CONTROLLER AND REQUESTED A CLEARANCE TO PDK. THE CONTROLLER ISSUED THE IFR CLEARANCE TO THE PILOT WITH AN INITIAL HEADING OF 240° AND AN ALTITUDE OF 2,000 FT MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL). THE CONTROLLER THEN INSTRUCTED THE PILOT TO TAXI THE AIRPLANE TO RUNWAY 22L. THE PILOT ADVISED THAT THEY WERE READY FOR TAKEOFF AND THE CONTROLLER CLEARED THE PILOT TO DEPART FROM RUNWAY 22L. AFTER TAKEOFF THE PILOT WAS GIVEN A FREQUENCY CHANGE AND SUCCESSFULLY ESTABLISHED COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER. THE PILOT WAS INSTRUCTED TO CLIMB TO 10,000 FT AND TO TURN RIGHT TO A HEADING OF 330°. PRELIMINARY RADAR DATA PROVIDED BY THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) IDENTIFIED AND DEPICTED THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT FROM THE TIME OF DEPARTURE FROM LFT TO THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. AFTER DEPARTING RUNWAY 22L, THE TRACK CHANGED TO THE ASSIGNED HEADING OF 240° AND CLIMBED TO AN ALTITUDE OF 900 FT MSL. THE AIRPLANE THEN STARTED A LEFT TURN AND BEGAN TO DESCEND. ACCORDING TO THE FAA, AS THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED THROUGH 700 FT MSL, AN ALTITUDE ALERT WAS ISSUED BY THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER TO THE PILOT; THE PILOT DID NOT RESPOND. NO MAYDAY OR EMERGENCY TRANSMISSION WAS RECORDED FROM THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE. ACCORDING TO MULTIPLE WITNESSES ON THE GROUND, THEY FIRST HEARD AN AIRPLANE FLYING OVERHEAD, AT A LOW ALTITUDE. SEVERAL WITNESSES STATED THAT IT SOUNDED AS IF BOTH ENGINES WERE AT A HIGH RPM. MULTIPLE WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE APPEAR OUT OF THE LOW CLOUD BANK IN A STEEP, LEFT-BANK TURN. ONE WITNESS STATED THAT THE AIRPLANE ROLLED WINGS LEVEL JUST BEFORE IT STRUCK THE TREES AND TRANSMISSION LINES ON THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF VEROT SCHOOL ROAD. THE AIRPLANE THEN STRUCK THE ROAD AND CONTINUED INTO THE UNITED STATES POST OFFICE PARKING LOT. TWO POST OFFICE EMPLOYEES WERE INJURED BY FLYING GLASS INSIDE OF THE BUILDING. ONE INDIVIDUAL WAS INJURED AFTER THE AIRPLANE STRUCK THE CAR SHE WAS PARKED IN. THE CAR ROLLED SEVERAL TIMES TO THE NORTH BEFORE IT CAME TO REST INVERTED; A POSTIMPACT FIRE CONSUMED THE CAR. A DEBRIS FIELD, INCLUDED FRAGMENTED AND BURNED PIECES OF THE AIRPLANE AND TREE DEBRIS, AND EXTENDED FROM THE TREES AND TRANSMISSION LINE, ALONG AN PPROXIMATE BEARING OF 315°, FOR 789 FT. THE RIGHT WING, THE OUTBOARD LEFT WING, BOTH ENGINES, BOTH ELEVATOR CONTROLS, THE RUDDER, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, AND FORWARD CABIN SEPARATED FROM THE MAIN FUSELAGE AND PIECES WERE LOCATED IN THE DEBRIS FIELD. THE MAIN WRECKAGE CONSISTED OF THE MAIN FUSELAGE AND THE INBOARD LEFT WING. THE WEATHER AT LFT BEFORE THE ACCIDENT RECORDED WIND 120° AT 5 KNOTS, OVERCAST CLOUDS WITH A VERTICAL VISIBILITY OF 200 FT AND ¾ MILE GROUND VISIBILITY RESTRICTED BY FOG AND MIST. THE TEMPERATURE WAS 20° C, THE DEWPOINT WAS 19°, AND THE ALTIMETER WAS 29.97 INCHES OF MERCURY. THIS RECORD MAY BE AMENDED AT A FUTURE DATE. ## 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 CEN20MA044](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20MA044), Dec 28, 2019: Piper PA 31T (N42CV), Lafayette, LA, destroyed, 5 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s loss of airplane control due to spatial disorientation during the initial climb in instrument meteorological conditions. 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.