History of Flight
On October 18, 2013, about 1008 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-180, registration N11ML, was destroyed when it impacted terrain near Tifton, Georgia. The flight departed Merritt Island Airport (COI), Merritt Island, Florida, about 0750, and was destined for LaGrange-Callaway Airport (LGC), LaGrange, Georgia. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured.
The flight was in radio and radar contact with Jacksonville Center while cruising at 6,500 feet. At 1000, the controller advised the pilot of an area of heavy and moderate precipitation extending from the aircraft's ten to two o'clock positions, about 14 miles, and instructed to maintain VFR. The pilot acknowledged and stated he would pick around it. No further communications were received. Radar contact was lost between 1010:45 and 1011:40.
Radar data showed the second-to-last target at 1007:46 at 6,200 feet mean sea level, in an area of very light precipitation, near light to moderate precipitation. The last target was recorded at 1008:10, with no altitude, in the vicinity of the accident site. The final four radar targets indicated a descending right 180-degree turn.
A witness who lived near the accident site observed the airplane flying level over his house at high speed, then descending straight down and impacting a field. The witness noted difficulty seeing the airplane in low clouds and that the engine noise was very loud. Just before impact, something from the airplane fell into a pond on the witness's property; this was later presumed to be the separated right main landing gear.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 39, held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land. He did not possess an instrument rating. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on August 4, 2012. According to his logbook, he had accumulated about 163 total flight hours, of which 1.7 hours were simulated instrument experience and none was actual instrument experience. He flew 3.8 hours in the 90 days before the accident and 0 hours in the previous 30 days.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft was a 1968 Piper PA-28R-180, serial number 28R-30503, a four-seat, low-wing, retractable tricycle-gear airplane. It was powered by a Lycoming IO-360, 180-horsepower engine equipped with a Hartzell constant-speed propeller. The most recent annual inspection was completed on September 1, 2013, at which time the airframe and engine had 6,169.47 total hours; the engine had 1,307.47 hours since major overhaul. The pilot's logbook indicated the airplane had flown about 1 hour since that inspection.
Meteorological Information
No record of the pilot obtaining a weather briefing was found. Nearby weather observations at 1015: Henry Tift Myers Airport (TMA), about 11 miles southeast, reported wind calm, visibility 1.5 miles in light drizzle, temperature 21°C, dew point 21°C, and altimeter 30.01 inHg. Fitzgerald Municipal Airport (FZG), about 18 miles northeast, reported an overcast ceiling at 400 feet.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage came to rest upright, fragmented, on a heading of about 270 degrees magnetic. A 75-foot debris path on a heading of 090 degrees began with the engine and ended at the empennage. Fuel odor and vegetation blight were present throughout. The engine, separated propeller, and instrument panel were buried in an approximate 6-by-6-by-3-foot impact crater. The cockpit area was crushed.
The left main landing gear partially separated; the right main landing gear completely separated and was not recovered, presumed submerged in an adjacent pond. The left aileron and flap remained attached and were compressed downward. The right aileron was destroyed, and fragments along with the right wingtip were found about 20 feet north of the debris path. The right flap separated. Landing gear was extended; flaps were retracted. Control continuity was confirmed from the rudder, stabilator, and stabilator trim to the mid-cabin area, where control cables were separated consistent with overstress. The stabilator trim jackscrew measured five threads (approximate neutral setting). Aileron control continuity was confirmed from the right wing aileron bellcrank to the wing root, and from the left aileron to the left wing root; aileron cables were separated at the wing roots consistent with overstress. The attitude indicator's gyro showed rotational scoring.
Engine examination revealed a torsional separation of the forward crankshaft; the crankshaft was bent, precluding rotation. No preimpact mechanical malfunctions were noted in the cylinders. Fuel from the fuel spider and servo was clear and consistent with 100LL aviation gasoline. The vacuum pump rotor was fragmented, but vanes were intact; rotational scoring was observed on the pump housing.
Propeller examination: one blade remained in the hub with leading edge gouging; the separated blade exhibited s-bending, chordwise scratching, and leading edge gouging.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy was performed by the Central Regional Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Medical Examiner's Office. Toxicological testing by the FAA Bioaeronautical Science Research Laboratory detected ethanol in kidney (19 mg/dL) and liver (10 mg/dL), and diphenhydramine in liver and muscle. Putrefaction was noted.