# Accident 20230117005439A: Piper Aircraft Inc PA 46-350P, Yoakum, TX, January 17, 2023 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 17, 2023, 10:39 local time - Place: Yoakum, TX - Airport: Yoakum Municipal Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Landing: Approach - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 29.3064° N, 97.1111° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.3064&lon=-97.1111&mi=10 - Aircraft: N963MA, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N963MA) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA 46-350P (registry code 7104619, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-46-350p) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A (registry code 41999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-tio-540-ae2a) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER AIRCRAFT INC PA 46-350P - Reported engine: LYCOMING TIO-540-AE2A - People aboard: 5 - Fatal injuries: 4 - Other injuries: 1 - Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN23FA084](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN23FA084) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230117005439A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON JANUARY 17, 2023, ABOUT 1039 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-46-350P JETPROP DLX AIRPLANE, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, AIRPLANE DESTROYED WHEN IT WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT NEAR YOAKUM, TEXAS. THE PILOT AND COPILOT SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. TWO PASSENGERS SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES AND ONE PASSENGER SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE AIRPLANE WAS OPERATED AS A TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 BUSINESS FLIGHT. A PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF AUTOMATIC DEPENDENT SURVEILLANCE-BROADCAST (ADS-B) DATA SHOWED THAT THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED FROM THE MEMPHIS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (MEM), MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, AT 0748. THE AIRPLANE WAS ENROUTE TO ITS DESTINATION AT THE YOAKUM MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (T85), YOAKUM, TEXAS. THE AIRPLANE WAS CLEARED FOR THE RNAV (GPS) RUNWAY 31 APPROACH AT T85. THE ADS-B DATA SHOWED THAT ABOUT ONE MILE SOUTH OF THE APPROACH END OF THE RUNWAY, THE AIRPLANE TURNED TO THE EAST, CLIMBED FROM 850 AGL TO 1575 AGL, THEN DESCENDED AND IMPACTED TERRAIN. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST IN A FIELD ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, ABOUT 1.5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF T85. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED AT A 45 DEGREES LEFTHAND NOSE DOWN ANGLE AND CAME TO REST UPRIGHT, AND BOTH WINGS WERE FOUND SEPARATED FROM THE FUSELAGE DUE TO THE IMPACT SEQUENCE. FOUND ELEVATOR TRIM TAB AT FULL NOSE DOWN POSITION. FLAPS WERE FULLY RETRACTED. FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS ESTABLISHED UP TO THE COCKPIT AREA. FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY IN THE COCKPIT COULD NOT BE DETERMINED ONSITE DUE TO IMPACT DAMAGE. THE STROBE LIGHT SWITCH WAS FOUND IN THE ON POSITION. THERE WERE NO OBVIOUS SIGNS OF MECHANICAL FAILURE OR ENGINE FAILURE. MAINTENANCE RECORDS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION. THERE WAS NO POST IMPACT FIRE BUT FUEL WAS NOTED ON THE GROUND AROUND THE WINGS AND FUSELAGE. FUEL SAMPLES WERE TAKEN FROM BOTH WINGS AND HEADER TANK. NO CONTAMINATES NOTED. THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO BOTH WINGS AND THE FUSELAGE. ACCORDING TO FIRST RESPONDERS, THE PASSENGER WITH SERIOUS INJURIES WAS ABLE TO EGRESS FROM THE CABIN AND HE CONTACTED FIRST RESPONDERS WITH HIS CELLULAR PHONE. HE WAS TRANSPORTED TO A LOCAL HOSPITAL. TEXAS STATE TROOPER STATED THAT THE AREA HAD DENSE FOG THAT MORNING. PROPERTY OWNER ALSO STATED HEAVY FOG AT 09:00 ON HIS PROPERTY THAT MORNING. LOCAL MEDI-VAC HELICOPTER WAS UNABLE TO REACH THE ACCIDENT SITE DUE TO LOW CLOUD/FOG CEILING. A SEARCH OF ARCHIVED INFORMATION INDICATED THAT THE ACCIDENT PILOT DID NOT REQUEST WEATHER INFORMATION FROM LEIDOS FLIGHT SERVICE. THE ACCIDENT PILOT DID REQUEST AND RECEIVE A WEATHER BRIEFING PACKAGE FROM FOREFLIGHT AT 0705 CST, AND THE WEATHER BRIEFING PACKAGE AT 0705 CST CONTAINED ALL THE STANDARD WEATHER FORECAST INFORMATION VALID AT THAT TIME INCLUDING CWA 102. PRIOR TO THE FLIGHT THE ACCIDENT PILOT HAD NOT VIEWED ANY WEATHER IMAGERY INFORMATION ON THE FOREFLIGHT APP. IT IS UNKNOWN WHAT ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, IF ANY, THE ACCIDENT PILOT CHECKED OR RECEIVED DURING THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT. CWA 103 WAS ISSUED AT 0859 CST AND VALID THROUGH 1100 CST AND FORECAST AN AREA OF LIFR CONDITIONS ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS INCLUDING THE ACCIDENT SITE. CWA 102 ISSUED AT 0658 CST AND VALID THROUGH 0900 CST ALSO FORECAST LIFR CONDITIONS FOR THE ACCIDENT SITE. ACCORDING TO HISTORICAL FAA AIRWORTHINESS RECORDS, THE AIRPLANE WAS MODIFIED IN FEBRUARY 2020 VIA SUPPLEMENTAL TYPE CERTIFICATE ST00541SE AND WAS EQUIPPED WITH A PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA PT6A-35 TURBOPROP ENGINE. ON-SITE WAS FAA, NTSB AND PIPER AIRCRAFT REP. AVIDYNE FLIGHTMAX SYSTEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE AIRCRAFT AND GIVEN TO THE NTSB FOR ANALYSIS. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH SURVIVOR SEVERAL WEEKS AFTER THE ACCIDENT, HE STATED THAT HE COULD NOT SEE ANYTHING OUT OF HIS WINDOW DUE TO CLOUDS OR FOG UNTIL RIGHT BEFORE IMPACT WITH THE GROUND. HE REMEMBERS THE PILOT STRUGGLING WITH THE AIRPLANE TO GET IT ON COURSE AND HEARING ALARMS SOUNDING. HE REMEMBERS THE PLANE “AGGRESSIVELY PITCHING UP” WITH MORE ALARMS AND THEN “AGGRESSIVELY PITCHING DOWN.” ## 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 CEN23FA084](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN23FA084), Jan 17, 2023: Piper PA46 (N963MA), Yoakum, TX, substantial damage, 4 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s spatial disorientation during a missed approach in instrument meteorological conditions, which led to an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic… 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.