- Date
- December 11, 1992, 18:58 local (Dec 12, 1992, 01:58 UTC)
- Place
- Twin Falls, ID
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N856MPiper PA-46
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report May 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921211049939A
- Case key
- 42968
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 maintain the ILS glide path.
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
After an all day flight from vero beach, Florida, the pilot diverted from his destination to his alternate and attempted a coupled ILS approach at Twin Falls, Idaho. During the approach, his autopilot disengaged and he missed the approach, and then elected to hand fly an approach, when he couldn't reengage the autopilot. During the second approach attempt, he descended below the glide path and impacted terrain. Weather at the time of the occurrence was one half mile visibility and 200 feet obscured cloud layer. The aircraft rolled over after impacting in a level plowed field. The pilot turned on the ELT after trying his radios and discovering that the ELT was not transmitting.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N856M
- Reported as
- Piper PA-46
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 46-8508069
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-BE, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- David & Patricia Wilson
- Registered owner
- David & Patricia Wilson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 1, 1992
- Departed
- GXY · Greeley, CO
- Destination
- SUN · Hailey, ID
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- TWF · Twin Falls Regional, runway 25, 8,703 × 150 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
- 46
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,171 total · 19 in this make and model · 1,102 as pilot in command · 67 in the last 90 days · 41 in the last 30 days · 12 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 14° at 6 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- 200 ft
- Temperature
- 30 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TWF, 1 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.