On March 20, 2009, a PIPER PA-32-300 (registration N55962) was involved in an aviation accident near Corona, CA. 2 people were killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot did not maintain airplane control during climb due to spatial disorientation while flying in instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of recent instrument flying experience. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A Piper PA-32-300, N55962, crashed into the Prado Flood Control Basin shortly after departing Corona Municipal Airport on March 20, 2009, killing the pilot and passenger.
Accident Overview and Flight History On March 20, 2009, at approximately 0840 Pacific Daylight Time, a Piper Cherokee Six, model PA-32-300, registration N55962, impacted terrain during departure from Corona Municipal Airport (AJO) in Corona, California. The pilot/owner was operating the aircraft under 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot and one passenger were fatally injured, and the aircraft sustained substantial damage from impact forces. The cross-country personal flight departed at 0838 with a planned destination of Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed. A search was initiated by local fire, police, and search and rescue personnel. The wreckage was located 10 hours later in thick vegetation in the Prado Flood Control Basin, approximately 0.5 nautical miles northwest of the departure end of runway 25. The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge reviewed recorded radar data, noting a discrete 4740 beacon code at a mode C reported altitude of 600 feet mean sea level (msl). Radar data indicated that after takeoff, the target climbed on a westerly course to 900 feet msl. It then executed a climbing right turn to 1,000 feet msl, followed by a descending right turn to 700 feet msl. The target subsequently made a climbing right turn to 1,300 feet msl, then changed to a left descending turn to 700 feet msl. The last radar return was at 900 feet msl, with the main wreckage located 400 feet west of the last recorded target. One witness reported hearing what sounded like the airplane impacting trees after losing sight of it due to low fog. Another witness at the airport heard the airplane, believed to be flying northwest, and thought it made two 360-degree turns followed by a dull thud, based on the rising and falling pitch and building and waning intensity of the engine and propeller noise. Both witnesses were unable to see the airplane due to low visibility at the airport. ## Personnel and Aircraft Information The 50-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. The pilot held a third-class medical certificate issued on July 16, 2007, with a limitation requiring corrective glasses for near vision. The pilot's logbook indicated a total flight time of about 426 hours, with about 415 hours in the make and model involved. An instrument rating was obtained on October 31, 2007, with the last instrument flight logged on November 6, 2007. The logbook showed about 2 hours of actual instrument time and about 47 hours of simulated instrument time. No flight time was recorded within the last 90 days prior to the accident, and there was no record of the pilot obtaining an instrument proficiency check within the 12 months prior to the accident. The aircraft was a Piper PA-32-300, serial number 32-7340147. Maintenance records revealed a reported total airframe time of 2,224 hours at the last annual inspection, signed off on June 26, 2008. The engine was a Lycoming IO-540-K1A5, serial number L-10955-48. Total time recorded on the engine at the last annual inspection was unknown, and time since major overhaul was 692 hours. ## Meteorological and Communications Information The closest official weather observation station was Corona Municipal Airport (AJO), located 0.7 nautical miles southeast of the accident site, with an elevation of 533 feet msl. An aviation special weather report for AJO issued at 0833 PDT stated: winds were calm; visibility 3/4 miles; skies 400 feet overcast; temperature 11 degrees Celsius; dew point 11 degrees Celsius; altimeter 29.93 inches of mercury. The pilot had filed an IFR flight plan and received an IFR flight release via telephone from Southern California terminal radar approach control (TRACON). The accident occurred prior to the pilot establishing radio contact with TRACON after departure. Corona Municipal Airport is a publicly owned, uncontrolled airport on lease to the City of Corona. The Airport/Facility Directory, Southwest U.S., indicated that runway 25 was 3,200 feet long and 60 feet wide, with an asphalt surface. Published takeoff minimums/departure procedures for AJO runway 25 specified 600 feet and 2 miles or standard with a minimum climb rate of 280 feet per nautical mile to 1,200 feet. The departure procedure required a climbing right turn, with all aircraft continuing climb direct to PDZ VORTAC. Aircraft departing PDZ R-091 CW R-140 and R-231 CW R-280 were to climb on course. All others were to continue climb in the PDZ VORTAC holding pattern (Hold NE, right turns, 210° inbound) to cross PDZ VORTAC at or above: R-141 CW R-230 4000, R-281 CW R-090 6700. ## Wreckage, Impact, and Medical Information The airplane impacted a flood control basin within the Prado Dam wetlands in Corona, in an area of dense vegetation and 30-foot-high bamboo-like plants. Investigators examined the wreckage at the accident scene. Impact signatures indicated the airplane impacted the ground in a left wing low, nose down attitude. The right wing then followed, impacting the ground leading edge down. The right wing fuel tip tank and associated fiberglass material separated from the wing and came to rest about 30 feet outboard of the wing. The fuselage came to rest on a heading of 179 degrees. The empennage section was bent over aft of the baggage compartment to the left side of the airplane near the left wing. The tail section came to rest on the tip of the left horizontal surface. The engine was buried vertically in the main ground crater underneath the main wreckage. The Riverside County Coroner completed an autopsy and reported the cause of death to be “multiple blunt force injuries” within an interval of seconds. The FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicological testing of specimens of the pilot. Analysis of the specimens contained no findings for carbon monoxide, cyanide, volatiles, and tested drugs. Investigators examined the wreckage at Aircraft Recovery Service in Littlerock, California, on March 23, 2009. The directional gyro (DG) assembly was disassembled for examination, and no rotational signatures were observed on either the rotor or housing assemblies. The artificial horizon (AH) gyro was disassembled for examination, and minor rotational signatures were observed on the rotor and housing assemblies. Water was present inside the housing assembly. The rear-mounted vacuum pump was secure at the mounting pad. The pump was removed, examined, and photographed. The drive was intact. The rotor/vane assembly was intact and undamaged. The cover o-ring was protruding from the cover. The airframe and engine were examined with no mechanical anomalies identified.