History of Flight
On June 8, 2012, at approximately 1307 central daylight time, a Piper PA-31-325, registration N174BH, departed from South St Paul Municipal Airport-Richard E Fleming Field (SGS) in South St Paul, Minnesota. The flight was a maintenance test flight following the replacement of one of the airplane's two engines. The pilot planned to fly for about four hours to break in the new engine, with an intended return to SGS. No flight plan was filed, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of departure.
The last known contact with the airplane occurred around 1300, when a fixed-base operator towed the airplane to the fuel pumps. Approximately 15 minutes later, the airplane was no longer present. Radar track data from ground-based sources indicated that the airplane departed SGS at 1307 and maneuvered east before turning north. The track continued north toward Duluth, Minnesota. Upon reaching Duluth, the airplane followed the west shoreline of Lake Superior, flying over water while maintaining a distance of about 0.5 miles from the shore. As it approached Two Harbors, Minnesota, the airplane descended. The last recorded radar position at 1427 placed the airplane approximately 30 miles northeast of Duluth at an uncorrected pressure altitude of 1,600 feet.
The airplane was reported missing, and an alert notification was issued at about 2225. The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center coordinated a search involving the Civil Air Patrol, United States Coast Guard, and other entities. Search efforts were suspended on July 4, 2012, without locating the airplane or the pilot.
Pilot Information
The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for single-engine land, multiengine land, and single-engine seaplane. A second-class airman medical certificate, with a restriction for corrective lenses, was issued on March 27, 2012.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was a 1976 Piper model PA-31-325, serial number 31-7612038. It was a six- to eight-seat, low-wing, twin-engine airplane with a tricycle landing gear configuration, constructed primarily of aluminum alloys. Power was provided by one Lycoming TIO-540-F2BD and one Lycoming LTIO-540 F2BD engine, each rated at 325 horsepower.
Meteorological Information
Weather conditions recorded at Duluth International Airport (DLH), approximately 30 miles southwest of the last recorded airplane position, at 1355 included wind from 220 degrees at 14 knots gusting to 22 knots, visibility 10 miles, few clouds at 4,000 feet above ground level (agl), scattered clouds at 12,000 feet agl, temperature 27 degrees Celsius, dew point 17 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.81 inches of mercury.