# Accident 20200531006659A: Piper PA-28-235, Carlinville, IL, May 31, 2020

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 31, 2020, 15:50 local time
- Place: Carlinville, IL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.2417° N, 89.9156° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.2417&lon=-89.9156&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8991W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8991W-2022-08-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-235 (registry code 7102810, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-235) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-28-235
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-540 SERIES
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 4
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 90 total, 30 in this make and model, 7 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN20LA201](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20LA201) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200531006659A

## Narrative

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

AT AROUND 1546 CST ON MAY 31, 2020 N8991W, A PIPER PA-28-235, IMPACTED TERRAIN APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CARLINVILLE, ILLINOIS.  THE PILOT AND 3 PASSENGERS SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES AS A RESULT OF THE ACCIDENT.  THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED CREVE COEUR AIRPORT (1HO) AT 1518 CST AND PROCEEDED NORTHEAST BOUND.  AT 1543 THE AIRCRAFT WAS ABOUT 2.5 MILES SOUTH/SOUTHWEST OF CARLINVILLE AT AN ALTITUDE OF 5,400 FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL).  AT THIS TIME THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN A LEFT TURN TO A SOUTHWESTERLY HEADING AND CLIMBED TO AN ALTITUDE OF 5,500 MSL.  AT 1545 CST THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN ANOTHER LEFT TURN BACK TO A NORTHEASTERLY HEADING CLIMBING TO 5600 MSL.  THE TURN RADIUS OF THIS TURN WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN THE FIRST TURN.    AT 1545:30 CST THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED A STEEP RIGHT HAND DESCENDING TURN.  FROM THAT POINT TO THE IMPACT SITE THE AIRCRAFT REMAINED IN A RIGHT HAND DESCENDING TURN WITH THE TURN RADIUS DECREASING AND THE DESCENT RATE INCREASING RAPIDLY.  DURING THIS DESCENT, THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO BREAK APART. THE WINGS, STABILATOR, AND VERTICAL STABILIZER SEPERATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT PRIOR TO THE FUSELAGE IMPACTING THE TERRAIN.  THE RIGHT WING WAS SITUATED IN THE CENTER OF THE DEBRIS FIELD.  ALL MAJOR AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS WERE CONTAINED WITHIN A 255 FOOT RADIUS FROM WHERE THE RIGHT WING CAME TO REST.  SOME SMALLER PIECES OF DEBRIS WERE FOUND OUTSIDE OF THAT RADIUS.  THE SMALLER PIECES OF DEBRIS WERE CONTAINED WITHIN A 475 FOOT RADIUS OF THE RIGHT WING.  ALL MAJOR AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS WERE LOCATED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE RIGHT AILERON.  APPROXIMATELY 2 TO 3 INCH SECTIONS OF THE AILERON SKIN WERE STILL ATTACHED TO THE TRAILING EDGE OF THE RIGHT WING AT THE INBOARD AND OUTBOARD AILERON ATTACHMENT POINTS.

## 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 CEN20LA201](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20LA201), May 31, 2020: Piper PA28 (N8991W), Carlinville, IL, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s attempted recovery from a steep descent which inadvertently exceeded the ultimate load factor of the airframe and resulted in a low-level inflight 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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