Piper PA-28-161 I-TVMA accident at Val Salatis, Tambre d’Alpago

Overview and flight history On 17 May 2002, a Piper PA-28-161, registration I-TVMA, was destroyed in an accident at Val Salatis, in the municipality of Tambre d’Alpago (BL), at approximately 08:30 UTC (10:30 local time). The aircraft was operating a visual flight rules (VFR) flight from Treviso S. Angelo to Klagenfurt, Austria, with the pilot and two passengers aboard. The pilot filed a flight plan by telephone, specifying a route via Vittorio Veneto, Santa Croce, Forni, Gemona, and Tarvisio, an estimated duration of one hour and thirty minutes, and an endurance of four hours. After takeoff at 08:02, the pilot contacted the Istrana control tower and crossed the Piave River at 1,000 feet. The aircraft climbed, passed Vittorio Veneto at 2,000 feet, and continued toward Lake Santa Croce. The last radio contact with the Padova Flight Information Centre occurred at 08:24, when the aircraft left the lake near Farra d’Alpago. No altitude was reported in that transmission. A witness at Casera Astor in Chies d’Alpago reported seeing a small aircraft flying at very low altitude along the entrance to Val Salatis, heading southeast, at about 10:30 local time. No further information about the flight followed. The Austrian flight information service at Klagenfurt requested information about I-TVMA at 12:33 and initiated an alert procedure. Around 14:00, two people near Casera de le Stele saw the wreckage and the bodies of the three occupants and alerted the police. At approximately 15:45, Carabinieri from Puos d’Alpago reached the site and found the wreckage of I-TVMA with the bodies of the three occupants, all deceased. ## Personnel and aircraft The pilot in command was a 51-year-old Italian male holding a valid private pilot licence issued in July 1988, with ratings P66B and P66C (current Vm/A SEP) and a valid medical certificate. Both passengers held pilot licences. The older passenger, aged 77, had substantial flight experience, had been an instructor at the Aero Club Treviso flight school, and occupied the front right seat; the other pilot was seated in the rear. The aircraft was a four-seat Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior II, manufactured by Piper Aircraft Corporation, with a horizontally opposed piston engine and a right-side access door. Its certificate of registration was number 7,926, and its registration marks were I-TVMA. ## Damage and investigation The aircraft was completely destroyed in the impact. The accident caused no damage to third parties on the ground. The incident was reported to the Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo (ANSV) by ENAV SpA on the day of the event. ANSV conducted the technical investigation in accordance with Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention and Italian legislation, with the sole objective of preventing accidents and incidents, excluding any assessment of fault or liability.