Background
On January 1, 2013, at approximately 2240 central standard time, a Piper PA-30, registration N7700Y, collided with terrain during an uncontrolled descent near Jasper, Alabama. The airplane was destroyed. The student pilot and two passengers sustained fatal injuries. The aircraft was unregistered and owned by a private individual. The flight was unauthorized, conducted at night in instrument meteorological conditions, and no flight plan was filed. It had departed from Walker County Airport-Bevill Field (JFX) in Jasper at 2235.
Accident Sequence
Witnesses reported that the night was dark and rainy. They heard an airplane flying very low, followed shortly by a loud crash, and notified local authorities. A security camera at the airport captured the airplane taxiing at high speed to the active runway. As it departed, its strobe lights reflected off the runway and continued upward into a low cloud ceiling, where they pulsated before disappearing from view.
According to the airport manager and instructor, the student pilot worked as a cleanup person at the airport in exchange for flight lessons. He had completed 10 hours of dual instruction and a solo flight on April 27, 2012, in a Cessna C-172. He later enrolled in a college aviation program but continued doing odd jobs for aircraft owners in exchange for rides. The airport manager was unaware of any additional lessons.
The owner of the airplane stated he knew the student pilot from the airport but had never given permission to fly the aircraft. The owner reported his airplane missing on the night of the accident, noting it had last been seen on December 23, 2012. The airplane was not locked and the student pilot did not have a key.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicated that the student pilot made no contact with air traffic control and no radio transmissions were known.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 17, held a student pilot certificate and, as of February 28, 2012, reported 6 hours of flight time in the preceding 6 months. He held a third-class medical certificate with a corrective lenses limitation. A review of his logbook showed 15.5 total flight hours as of September 16, 2012. He was signed off for his first solo on April 27, 2012, and for the private pilot knowledge test on August 26, 2012, but no record indicated he took the test. The logbook contained no entries or endorsements for multi-engine, night, or instrument flight.
Aircraft Information
The four-seat, low-wing Piper PA-30, serial number 30-785, was manufactured in 1965. It was powered by two Lycoming IO-320-B1A 160-horsepower engines with Hartzell HC-E2YL-2BS hubs and F7663-4 blades. An annual inspection was completed on August 13, 2012, at an airframe total time of 1,369.5 hours and a recorded total time of 5,160.6 hours (likely indicating engine time).
Meteorological Conditions
Weather recorded at Walker County Airport at 2255 showed wind from 350 degrees at 8 knots, broken clouds at 400 feet above ground level, temperature 45°C, dew point 43°C, and altimeter 30.11 inches of mercury. A witness reported fog and mist in the area at the time of the accident.
Wreckage and Impact
The airplane came to rest in a heavily wooded area about one mile southwest of JFX. The fuselage lay on a magnetic course of 050 degrees. The cockpit and cabin were crushed and fragmented. The nose gear assembly had separated from the fuselage and was found along the debris path. The instrument panel was impact-damaged. The empennage remained attached but buckled, and flight control continuity was confirmed from the controls to the surfaces. Both left and right fuel selectors were in the ON position.
The right wing remained attached at the root, but the outboard section was fragmented. The right engine had separated from the wing nacelle and sustained impact damage. The right main fuel tanks were breached, and fuel caps were secured. The right main landing gear was found extended and separated from the wing.
The left wing also remained attached at the root, with the outboard section beyond the engine nacelle fragmented. The left engine remained attached and was impact-damaged. The left main fuel tanks were breached, caps secure, and the left main landing gear was extended.
Both engines showed crush damage, and their propellers remained attached to the hubs. The propeller blades exhibited “S” bending and scoring along their spans. Several tree branches at the site, approximately 4 inches in diameter, were cut cleanly in diagonal patterns, consistent with propeller impact. No anomalies were found that would have precluded normal operation of the engines or propellers.
Additional Information
Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 61.89(a) restricts a student pilot from acting as pilot-in-command of an aircraft carrying passengers, when visual reference to the surface is not maintained, or contrary to limitations in the logbook.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed on January 3, 2013, by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences determined the cause of death as blunt force injuries. Forensic toxicology testing by the FAA found no ethanol or drugs in the pilot's specimens.