- Date
- September 23, 1992, 05:26 local (10:26 UTC)
- Place
- Samantha, AL
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N43313Piper PA-28-151
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report May 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920923038539A
- Case key
- 8520
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and preparation, his lack of expereince, which resulted in an encounter with instrument weather conditions during an attempted visual flight, and his subsequent spatial disorientation. Factors were the dark night conditions, clouds, and the pilot's geographical disorientation.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot obtained a weather briefing & filed a VFR flight plan just before his departure shortly after midnight. Cloud layers were forecast along the route of flight. En route he contacted ATC & said he was lost. His conversation indicated that he was in clouds. Radar information depicted that the flight path of the airplane became erratic in heading & altitude. Subsequently, the airplane impacted the ground in a steep flight path & nose down attitude. The pilot had obtained his private certificate about three months prior to the accident. His pilot's log indicated that he had been receiving instrument flight instruction. He had a total of 7 simulated instrument flight hours.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N43313
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-151
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7415466
- Airframe hours
- 9,856
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E3D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Benson, Paul D.
- Registered owner
- Benson, Paul D.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 13, 1992 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- SUS · St. Louis, MO
- Destination
- PFN · Panama City, FL
- Flight plan
- VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 118 total · 77 in this make and model · 96 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 20° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,900 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TCL, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N43313 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.