Introduction
On September 22, 2009, at 0935 central daylight time, a Piper PA-12, registration N3234M, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain approximately five miles east-northeast of Columbia Regional Airport (COU), Columbia, Missouri. The private pilot, the sole occupant, received fatal injuries. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight and had departed Montgomery-Wehrman Airport (4MO), Montgomery City, Missouri, about 0845, en route to Wichita, Kansas. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed.
Flight History
The pilot purchased the airplane in Pennsylvania on September 20, 2009, and departed that afternoon for Wichita. It was not determined where he stopped overnight. On September 21, he landed at 4MO, a privately owned grass airstrip open to the public, due to weather. The airport manager observed the airplane taxiing and helped secure it. They checked weather radar, which showed an approaching front. The pilot decided to stay overnight; rain fell all night. The next morning, the pilot returned, started the engine, and taxied to the fuel pump. The right fuel cap was missing. He repeatedly drained the fuel sump due to water in the right tank. The left tank showed no contamination. The airport manager provided a replacement fuel cap for the right tank.
Witness Reports
Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying at low altitude before the accident. One witness observed the airplane at 50–60 feet above ground with the engine sputtering and cutting in and out. Another witness saw the airplane below the fog, lost sight but heard it circling two or three times, with the engine sputtering as if experiencing a fuel problem. A third witness saw the airplane at about 50–60 feet altitude with a sputtering engine. The airplane impacted a grassy field along the north side of CR 346 near Wise Drive in Callaway County, about 30 nautical miles west-southwest of 4MO.
Pilot Information
The 31-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating and a third-class medical certificate. He was not instrument rated. He began flying in 2001 and had approximately 284 total flight hours. His logbook indicated he moved to Alaska in June 2009 and logged about 29.4 hours in a Piper J-4. A witness stated the pilot planned to fly the accident airplane to Alaska after stopping in Wichita.
Aircraft Information
The accident airplane was a Piper PA-12, serial number 12-2113, powered by a 100-horsepower Lycoming O-235-C engine. The last annual maintenance inspection was on July 6, 2009, with airframe time at about 1,369 hours and engine time at about 1,449 hours. The previous annual inspection was on March 20, 1999, with 1,365 airframe hours and 1,445 engine hours.
Weather Conditions
At 0854, COU reported wind 260° at 5 knots, 1/4 mile visibility in fog, indefinite ceiling 100 feet, temperature 17°C, dew point 17°C, altimeter 29.99 inHg. At 0954, conditions were similar: wind 250° at 6 knots, 1/4 mile visibility, indefinite ceiling 100 feet, temperature 17°C, dew point 16°C, altimeter 30.02 inHg. Surface analysis showed a low pressure system with a cold front along the flight path. The Weather Depiction Chart indicated instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions along and behind the front; the accident site was in IFR conditions while departure and destination airports were under visual flight rules (VFR). There was no record of the pilot obtaining a formal preflight weather briefing.
Wreckage and Engine Examination
The airplane impacted a field at coordinates 38°51'39"N, 092°08'07"W. The main wreckage was localized at impact. The left wing was bent aft from root to tip with leading-edge crushing; the left wingtip was deformed. The right wing remained attached with substantial damage but less bending or crushing. The empennage was crushed and buckled. The engine was in a crater; propeller blades were bent aft. Flight control cables were attached to clevises. An FAA inspector noted cylinder fin deformation, bent crankshaft flange, fractured starter ring adapter, worn but functional spark plugs, engine internal continuity, broken left magneto (produced spark), carburetor broken off, and a hole in the oil sump from impact.
Autopsy results attributed the pilot's cause of death to blunt trauma from the crash. Toxicology tests for carbon monoxide, cyanide, and ethanol were negative; quinine was detected in liver and kidney.