What happened
On April 1, 2024, at approximately 10:27 EDT, a Piper PA-28-236, registration N8438B, was destroyed following an accident near Muncie, Indiana. The aircraft was operating under Part 91 as a personal flight.
The pilot had filed an instrument flight rules flight plan. Data from OpsVue indicated the aircraft departed from runway 35 at Monroe County Airport (BMG) in Bloomington, Indiana, at approximately 09:37. The flight proceeded northeast toward Muncie Delaware County Airport (MIE) to execute an RNAV runway 14 approach.
During the approach, the aircraft descended to approximately 2,900 ft MSL while aligned with the final approach course. The aircraft then drifted right of the course, tracking parallel to it. At a point abeam the airport, the pilot arrested the descent at 1,100 ft MSL and initiated a climbing right turn. The aircraft completed two full 360-degree right turns, experiencing fluctuations in altitude. Track data was lost at 10:26 at approximately 1,300 ft MSL while the aircraft was on a ground track of roughly 292 degrees.
The aircraft subsequently descended and impacted terrain in a wooded area about 3,400 ft southwest of the midpoint of runway 14. The impact resulted in two serious injuries to pedestrians on a public walking trail and one serious injury to the pilot.
Weather conditions at the time of the accident were instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) with a 500-foot overcast ceiling, visibility of 6 miles in mist, and winds from 040 degrees at 13 knots.