Accident Review

logical flight plan had beenfrled for the flight. The privatepilot was fatally injured. Thepersonal flight was conductedunder the provisions ofTitlel4 Code of Federal RegulationsPart 91. The flight departedMorristown Municipal AirPort(MMU), Morristown, N.J.,

around 1635 with the in-

tended destination of Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK),

Atlanta.Preliminary radar data

indicated that the airPlanereversed direction and made

several turns prior to losingradar contact and contact withAir Tramc Control.

The accident debris Pathwas approximately 700 feetwide by 2,000 feet long, andmain wreckage, which consist-

ed ofthe fuselage, engine andinboard section ofthe wings,was oriented on a 237-degreeheading. The outboard sectionofthe left and right wing,rudder, horizontal stabilizer,elevator counter weights andthe inboard section oftheelevator were found about 700

feet north ofthe main wreck-age in a 6eld. The verticalstabilizer and midsection ofthe left and right elevator were

found in a road approximatelY900 feet to the northeast ofthemain wreckage. A midsectionofthe right flap was foundthe farthest from the main

wreckage, which uras 2,000

feet east northeast ofthe mainwreckage. All componentsofthe airplane were located

and control continuity was

confirmed to all flight-controlsurfaces. An odor similar tolet A fuel was noted through-out the debris field.

The engine remained at-

tached to rhe firewall throughwires and all engine mounts.

Seveml components inside theengine exhibited rotationalscoring. In addition, the com-pressor turbin€ was rotatedby hand and continuity was

confirmed between the com-pressor and the accessory gear

box. No mechanical malfunc-tions or abnormalities withthe engine that would have

precluded normal operationwere noted.

A Garmin 696 handheldGlobal Positioning S)stem, a

Garmin 496 handheld GPS, an

Avidyne EX500, and an enginemonitor were located, removedand sent to the NTSB RecorderLaboratory for download.

Dawsonville. Ga. . BY DlcK ROCHFoRT

trlSB ldeDti.fl.satio!: XfAL4faoSE14 CIR Part 913 oeDeral AviationAccidelt occurred llondal r Deo. 02, 20lr,iD DawsoDYille r Ga.Aj.rcralt: PIPEn PA 46-1 10P'registratioD: tr8?trI'IDjuries: 1 lata1.?his i,. !&1&ist, illordtlon' subJ..t to cb.!8e, ud aJ co!t'i'errols. lr, .!!ors h tbis !.rort ,itl !. colr.cted !h'r th' !'alr.ron !^s b..! co!1.t..1. !:lsB lltestig.iors .1th.r iEr'!'d i!

- suElon ol lb1s ld.stis.tio! o! coDilrct.d a siSDinlut &oEt oi1E.stlA.tlt. eo!!, rithout &J t!.Y.I' ua us.d ilt. o!t'l!td t!o!tu1@s sNlc.s to ,r.Ir. tbis .i* lt &clit.!t !.rort'

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?Ol4Winter

On Aug. 25, about 14l5Eastem On Dec. 2,2013, aboutl9l5 EST, a Piper PA-,16'3108N87NF, was destroyed following an inflight break uP andimpact with terrain in a heavilYwooded arEa near Dawsonville,Ga. Night instrument meteo-rological conditions prevailed

and an instnxrent meteoro-

32 MMoPA s,NrER ?or4

\ACCIDENT REVIEW

TALKING POINTS::FAASTeam Program manager Eric Minnissays that about 15 percent ofall day VFRaccidents are fatal; night VFR accidents arefatal 30 percent ofthe time. Add IMC andthe number,umps to 60 percent. There isno mystery here. Ifyou hit something youcannot see with your airplane, the outcomeis likely to be very bad. The likelihood ofthis t,?e accident increases dramatically ifthere is a loss ofcontrol.

It is not possible to know, at this point,what went wrong over Georgia on the nightofDec. 2, and I do not wish to pick on theaccident pilot no matter how egregious hiserrors, if any, may have been. I want to fo-cus on possible causal factors and give you,the reader, a few "take-away" ideas that youmight readily implement to make you abetter, safer, more confrdent pilot.

It may interest you to know that GeneralAviation flies about 20 percent ofthe hoursin the U.S. but is responsible for 80 percentofthe accidents. Loss ofcontrol is still thelow-hanging fruit in terms ofpreventableaviation accidents at about 75 percent ofGA fatal accidents.

Proper personal preparation with respectto sleep, hydration and diet are among thefint to consider for every flight. Sleep de-privation is well-documented to be an issuein more than a few accidents- Most SOPS

(standard operating procedures) containcr€w rest requirements to include a mini-mum of l2 hours of drug- and alcohol-fteerest as well as seven hours of uninterruptedsleep within the last 24 houIs prior to flight.Do not avoid drinking water to avoid hav-ing to pee. Cabin air at altitude is l0 timesdrier than desert air lfyour urine is dark oryou feel thirsty, you are defrnitely dehy-drated. Carry and use bonled water and peebags ifyou are so inclined.

Procedural discipline with respect to theproper use ofpitot heat continues to be anissue. It is a training issue and has been forover 20 yean in the PA-,16 fleet. Ifyou aredelib€rately not using pitot heat on everyflight, you are misinformed. The biggestreason I am given for this very dangerousomission is the beliefthat the pitot (pro-nounced "pee-toe") tube wi.ll overheat ifyou use it too much. This is incorrect. Thisdiscussion is not about probability; it isabout consequences. The pitot heat shouldbe a runway environment-flow item, and itshould be switched on before each and everyflight regardless ofplanned altitude, outsideair temperature or curr€nVforecast weather.

The best advice I have heard for avoidinga loss-of-control accident is "iust donlIose control in the first place." I am always

suspicious ofany advice which includesthe word "iust." Somehow it is always anover-simplification of the truth. lf youshould 6nd yourselfin an unusual attitude,use the following guideline: Ifthe nose ofthe aircraft is lou level the wings and raisethe nose; ifthe nose ofthe aircraft is high,lower the nose, and then level the wings.Know the power settings you need to

achieve Va (maneuvering speed) and ice-penetration speed in your aircraft under allnormal configurations. This will help youidentifo and eliminate a malfunctioning in-strument more quickly. Know your autopi-lot forward and backward. No one shouldkrow more about the operation ofyourautopilot than you. Learn to use it properlyand practice hand-fllng whenever safety

,., MMOPA ACCIDENT REVIEW

88&386.3596

www.skytechlnc.com

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Since its incroduction in 1984, Skytech

has been a world leader in dle sal€s ardsupport of dte PA-,16. Whether you are

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allows. Both skills are necessary. You should

be able to fly the flight director by hand iustas well as the autopilot does. Seek out uPs€t

training from an experienced instructor.This is completely different from aerobatic

traininS.Proper management of the cabin dtitude

includes a thorough knowledge ofthe cabin

pressurization system; how it works as well

as common failure modes. Knowledge ofminimum or),gen requirements will help

us focus on proper action in an emergency.

In addition to some very sPecific crew

training, the FAA requires a mask (not

a crnnula) above 17,500 feet and a veryspecifc type ofquick done mask above FL

250. These are small, a.lbeit imPortant, con-siderations ihat have a way ofgetting out offocus without good Procedural discipline.Ifany ofthis is comint as a surPrise to you'

it may be time to relax by the fireplace witha current copy of the FAR./AI M. There is

a very good iPad app by Tekk lnnovationscalled FARJAIM, and it is digitally search-

able. I highly recommend it.

31 44oc^

I write this article four times P€r year, and

most of the time I have my pick of several

serious PA-46 accidents. Unfortunately, this

quarter is no dijferent. The PA-,16 com-

munity has had some low accident periods,

but the average number offatalities over the

last 6ve years is approximately the same as

the prior five-year period and the same as

each 6ve-year period before tha!. It remains

roughly twice as high as the rest ofGeneralAviation. This is not good We can do bener.

Remember, good pilots are not thrill'seeking risk takers. Good pilots are well

trained risk managers who endeavor topossess ATP level skills and knowledge.Always strive to improve your risk-management capabilities by insisting on

excellent training. Excellent training is

achieved with aircraft specific proceduraldiscipline in the use ofcheck.lists, flows,

memory items and standard operatingprocedures; the same way, each and every

time. Excellent training does not cost any

more or take any longer Excellent trainingwill prevent accidents.

Ifyou are flying any PA-46, you shouldconsider yourselflucky. In my oPinion, itis the most capable GA aircraft available

today. It is an excellent value and it is gei-

ting better every Year. -M ro?^

Dick Ro(hfort is atl AirlineTlanspolt Pibt and Master

Certif ed F lght lwttuc torand hos been a fuIl-timelight iastucmrfor morethan 20 years. He k curaently

providing eatellent Eain-

ing and reloted services exdusively to PA-45

instructors, owners and pilots *otldwklethrough his comPany, RWR hbt Ttainingand the Professionol Association oJ Pilot

lnstructors of *hich he is o Jounding nembetlJ you would lil,a more i lonnatio on this

ot otho strategia lor improving the salety ofyour llying or il you have cor rnents or ques'

tions, you moy contect Dic* dirutly at mail@

r*ryilottraining.com.This article is olail^ble Jot rePrint uPon

requut. Fly Safely - Train Oftea

T

MMOPA ACCIDENT REVIEW

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