- Date
- October 11, 2015, 10:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Kanab, UT
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N945SPiper PA 46-350P
- Defining event
- Standing-engine(s) operating: Airport occurrence
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 3, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20151011017369A
- Case key
- 92168
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 monitor the airplane's movement on the ground while programming the GPS, which resulted in a collision with a pole.
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 that after he had started the airplane's engine, he noticed an error in the route programmed in the global positioning system (GPS). The pilot reported the airplane had begun to roll forward as he made changes to the GPS programming and he was not aware the airplane was moving. The airplane collided with a steel pole and sustained substantial damage to fuselage and wing. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that after he had started the airplane's engine, he noticed an error in the route programmed in the global positioning system (GPS). The pilot reported the airplane had begun to roll forward as he made changes to the GPS programming and he was not aware the airplane was moving. The airplane collided with a steel pole and sustained substantial damage to fuselage and wing. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N945S
- Reported as
- Piper PA 46-350P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4636495
- Built
- 2011
- Airframe hours
- 637
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Scepter Inc
- Registered owner
- Scepter Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 18, 2015
- Departed
- KNB · Kanab, UT
- Destination
- 1G4 · Peach Springs, AZ
- Airport
- KNB · Kanab Muni
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, Onboard weather, Satellite tracking device, Stall warning system, Auto-pilot, Data recorder
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
- 79
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 9, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 6,376 total · 2,581 in this make and model · 6,156 as pilot in command · 27 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.26 inHg
- Observed at
- KAZC, 23 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 23, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.7 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.