- Date
- November 20, 1992, 00:25 local (07:25 UTC)
- Place
- Kersey, CO
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N39683Piper PA-32RT-300T
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report July 29, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921120052839A
- Case key
- 18241
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
Inadvertent stall and loss of control due to structural icing. Factors were: icing conditions, and flight into known adverse weather.
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
While on an IFR cross country flight to the airport where the pilot and aircraft were based, the flight was cleared to descend, and cleared for an instrument approach to the planned destination, an uncontrolled airport. Radar contact was lost when the aircraft descended to an altitude below radar coverage capability. When the flight plan was not closed, a search was initiated and the aircraft was found approximately 12 hours later, in a field approximately nine miles from the destination airport. Environmental conditions at the time of the accident were dark night, and 600 feet broken clouds with fog. Structural icing conditions were present, and were forecast in the weather briefing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N39683
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32RT-300T (PA-32RT-30)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32R-7887141
- Airframe hours
- 2,341
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-SIAD, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Kevin K. Opp
- Registered owner
- Kevin K. Opp
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 5, 1992
- Departed
- LBB · Lubbock, TX
- Destination
- GXY · Greeley, CO
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- GXY · Greeley-Weld County, runway 9, 6,210 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,545 total · 675 in this make and model · 1,140 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 60° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 600 ft broken
- Temperature
- 34 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GXY, 11 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.