- Date
- September 23, 2025, 00:10 local (05:10 UTC)
- Place
- Rush City, MN · wooded area
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N14SSPiper PA-34-200
- Defining event
- Approach-IFR final approach: Miscellaneous/other
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report October 23, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards
- FAA report
- 20250923016599A
- Case key
- 201745
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 failure to properly monitor the airplane glide path which resulted in the inadvertent descent below the approach minimum descent altitude and the impact with trees.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported the flight was conducted on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The initial portion of the flight was in visual meteorological conditions. However, as the flight neared the intended destination airport, the weather conditions had deteriorated and an instrument approach was required. While on the final approach segment, the airplane drifted left of course. As the pilot was correcting and looking for the runway, he did not notice the airplane had descended below the minimum descent altitude. He initiated a missed approach but was unable to avoid trees in the airplane flight path. Since the runway was not in sight, he decided to divert to a nearby airport with visual conditions. The remainder of the flight was uneventful. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and stabilator from the tree impact. The pilot stated there were no failures or malfunctions related to the airplane before the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N14SS
- Reported as
- Piper PA-34-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34-7770385
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 3,806
- Engines
- Continental LTSIO360, 200 horsepower, reciprocatingContinental TSIO360, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ks Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 11, 2025 · 45 hours before
- Departed
- IKV · Ankeny, IA
- Destination
- ROS · Rush City, MN
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- ROS · Rush City Regional, runway 34, 4,401 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 3, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 789 total · 180 in this make and model · 730 as pilot in command · 83 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night
- Wind
- 20° at 3 knots, gusting 1
- Visibility
- 0.75 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 200 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- KROS, 1 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KROS 230515Z AUTO 02003KT 3/4SM BR OVC002 14/13 A2993
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 23, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.7 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.