On November 17, 1986, a Piper PA-28-161 (registration N43905) operated by General Aviation Inc. was involved in an aviation accident near Danville, VA. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to maintain visual reference in deteriorating weather conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive; 5 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A private aircraft collided with trees during a right turn near an airport runway while flying into deteriorating weather conditions.
What happened
The aircraft was observed circling the airport as weather conditions worsened. The pilot had chosen to depart at approximately 23:45 EST, relying on a weather briefing obtained six and a half hours prior to the flight. Witnesses reported seeing the N-number aircraft disappear intermittently into and out of fog. During a right turn with the right wing low, the aircraft collided with trees before coming to rest next to an abandoned house within 1,000 feet of the runway.
The investigation
The pilot held a total of approximately 83 hours of flying time. Records indicated that the pilot had not logged any instrument flight time since obtaining his private pilot certificate more than a year before this accident.
Findings
Contributing factors included the pilot's decision to depart with outdated weather information and the lack of recent instrument rating experience. The aircraft encountered fog and low visibility conditions while maneuvering near the airport.
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain visual reference in deteriorating weather conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.
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