- Date
- March 17, 1991, 10:36 local (15:36 UTC)
- Place
- Bronson, FL
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9112KPiper PA-46-310P
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910317005549A
- Case key
- 32936
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Probable cause
The pilot's failure to activate the pitot heat before ascending above the freezing level in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), followed by his improper response to erroneous airspeed indications that resulted from blockage of the pitot tube by atmospheric icing. Contributing to the accident was: the pilot's lack of currency in flying in IMC.
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 plt was on an IFR flt in IMC & rcvd clnc to climb & maint FL220. Drg climb, he informed ARTCC, '. . . We're having a problem.' When asked to say again, he bgn the same reply, then no further rdo com was rcvd fm the acft. Subsequently an inflt breakup occurred & wreckage was scattered ovr a wide area. The rgt outboard wing panel, hrzntl stabilizer, elevators, rgt aileron & parts of the rudder were fnd at a dstc fm the main wreckage. These displayed evidence of overstress failure. No preexisting cracks or fatigue was fnd. Radar & wx data showed dev fm normal flt bgn at or nr MDT convective wx echo (vip 2) as the acft was climbing thru 17,300' in frzg conds. At that time, the rate of climb was abt 200'/MIN & the gnd spd was 150 to 160 KTS. At 1032:18, a dscnt bgn. Drg the next 2 to 3 min, the acft's alt, hdg & spd deviated. At 1035:17, otr primary radar targets appeared, then radar ctc was lost. Gross wt of the acft was estd to be 4311 lbs; max allowable wt was 4100 lbs. CG was estd to be 1.59 inches bhnd the aft lmt. (See: NTSB/SIR-92/03)
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9112K
- Reported as
- Piper PA-46-310P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4608042
- Airframe hours
- 662
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-BE1, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Donald M. Schreiber
- Registered owner
- Fuller Aircraft Leasing Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 15, 1991 · 11 hours before
- Departed
- PIE · St Petersburg, FL
- Destination
- BED · Bedford, MA
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,252 total · 268 in this make and model · 2,027 as pilot in command · 44 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 700 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- GNV, 23 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.