# Accident 20200627005809A: New Piper Aircraft Inc PA-32R-301T, Zavalla, TX, June 27, 2020

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 27, 2020, 01:55 local time
- Place: Zavalla, TX
- Airport: Private Airstrip
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.1875° N, 94.3408° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.1875&lon=-94.3408&mi=10
- Aircraft: N315AM (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: NEW PIPER AIRCRAFT INC PA-32R-301T
- Reported engine: LYCOMING TIO-540-AH1A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN20LA248](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20LA248) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200627005809A

## Narrative

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

THE UNCERTIFICATED PILOT DEPARTED FROM KDWH AT 1 AM IN N315AM, A PIPER SARATOGA. THE AIRCRAFT ARRIVED AT THE SMALL-UNLIT AIRSTRIP THE PILOT OWNED NEAR ZAVALLA, TEXAS AT ABOUT 1:30 AM. THE PILOT WAS CIRCLING TRYING TO LOCATE THE RUNWAY. A WITNESS HEARD AN AIRCRAFT OVER THE AREA NEAR THE AIRSTRIP FOR APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE AIRCRAFT NOISE STOPPED ABOUT 2 AM.

THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH THE TREE LINE ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE OPEN AREA AND IMPACTED THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST IN THE OPEN AREA ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE TREE LINE AT APPROXIMATELY 300 YARDS FROM THE NORTH END OF THE RUNWAY. THE ENSUING POST-CRASH FIRE DESTROYED THE AIRCRAFT WITH ONE FATALITY. AUTOMATED WEATHER AT NEARBY AIRPORT KJAS REPORTED TEMPERATURE 27 WITH DUE POINT AT 26.

THIS INFORMATION IS BASED ON CURRENT AVAILABLE FACTS.  THE REPORT WILL BE UPDATED IF NEW FACTS ARE DISCOVERED FROM THE NTSB OR MEDICAL EVALUATION.

MEDICAL EVALUATION PILOTS TOXICOLOGY REPORT:^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^

## 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 CEN20LA248](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20LA248), Jun 27, 2020: Piper PA32R (N315AM), Zavalla, TX, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The non-certificated pilot’s poor decision-making as he attempted to land at an unlit airstrip in night instrument conditions, which resulted in the airplane’s collision with terrain short of the…

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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