Accident Overview
On June 28, 2007, about 0815 central daylight time, a Piper PA-46-500TP, registration N477MD, was destroyed on impact with terrain following an in-flight breakup near Wellsville, Missouri. The pilot and two passengers sustained fatal injuries. The personal flight was operating under Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological surface conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed and activated.
Flight History
The flight originated from the Spirit of St Louis Airport (SUS), near Chesterfield, Missouri, about 0750, and was destined for the Buffalo Municipal Airport, near Buffalo, Minnesota. Before departure, at about 0711, a person representing N477MD contacted Kankakee Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) to file an IFR flight plan and obtain an abbreviated weather update. The AFSS briefer advised the pilot of heavy rain and thunderstorm activity in Missouri along the planned route. The pilot stated that he had onboard radar for weather avoidance.
Weather and Communications
After departure at 0750, N477MD contacted Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control (ATC) on the St. Louis (Gateway) Departure frequency about 0752. The controller advised of light to moderate precipitation ahead and later of additional areas of moderate and heavy precipitation, suggesting a track to avoid it. The pilot concurred, noting he saw the same areas on his radar. The airplane was cleared to climb to 10,000 feet and subsequently to flight level 230. At 0801:42, a position relief briefing occurred, and the controller was replaced twice. None of the three Kansas City Center (ZKC) controllers who handled the flight provided any weather information to the pilot. At 0812:26, a controller asked if the pilot had been given a clearance to deviate. The pilot responded, "mike delta we've got problems uh..." and then went silent. Radar contact was lost shortly thereafter. The airplane crashed in an open field near Wellsville and was destroyed. All three occupants were killed.
Probable Cause
The official investigation found the probable cause to be the pilot's failure to activate the pitot heat as per the checklist, resulting in erroneous airspeed information due to pitot tube icing, and his subsequent failure to maintain aircraft control. A contributing factor was the pilot's continued flight in an area of known adverse weather.