2014 Piper PA-46 Crash at Heaven's Landing Airport (N248SP)

Accident Overview and Flight Details On July 26, 2014, at approximately 0850 EDT, a Piper PA-46-310P, registration N248SP, struck trees and terrain shortly after departing Heaven's Landing Airport (GE99) in Clayton, Georgia. The private pilot was killed, and the aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a subsequent fire. The flight was a personal operation under 14 CFR Part 91, originating at GE99 and en route to Aurora, Illinois (ARR). An instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed, and day instrument meteorological conditions prevailed. The aircraft was registered to a corporation and was a 1984 Piper PA-46-301P equipped with a 310-horsepower Continental TSIO-520-BE engine and a Hartzell constant-speed, composite three-bladed propeller. It featured retractable tricycle landing gear. Maintenance records indicated that annual inspections of the airframe, engine, and propeller were completed on June 11, 2014, at a total airframe time of 3,593 hours. The engine had 532 hours since its last major overhaul at that time, and the annual inspection was the final logbook entry.