14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, August 16, 2011 in Graham, NC
Probable Cause Approval Date: 07/09/2012
Aircraft: PIPER AIRCRAFT INC PA-32R-301T, registration: N492ST
Injuries: 1 Minor.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The airplane was stolen during nighttime hours and flown at varying airspeeds and altitudes for about 2 hours before it impacted trees and terrain. Photographs of the accident scene revealed damage indicative of an almost vertical descent and consistent with a stall. There was no indication of engine power at the time of impact, and no significant amount of fuel was found at the scene, in the airplane, or seeped into the ground. An individual, who had previously held a student pilot certificate, was arrested 2 days after the event. The individual refused to provide a statement to authorities. Fuel prior to takeoff and power settings used could not be determined; however, with fuel exhaustion occurring after only 2 hours for an airplane that should have had considerably more endurance if fully fueled and operated correctly, it is likely that the individual mismanaged the rate of fuel consumption.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The individual's fuel mismanagement, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent engine failure. Contributing the accident was the individual’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed following the engine failure, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
On August 16, 2011, about 0425 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32R-301T, N492ST, was substantially damaged when it impacted wooded terrain in Graham, North Carolina. No one was found in or near the wreckage; however, on August 18, 2011, a suspect with minor injuries was arrested for larceny of the airplane. The airplane departed Horace Williams Airport (IGX), Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar information indicated that the airplane departed IGX about 0235, and subsequently made multiple turns, climbs and descents. Recorded altitudes varied between 5,100 feet above mean sea level (msl), and 800 feet msl in the vicinity of the accident site, while terrain elevations averaged about 600 feet. Numerous losses of radar contact were also noted during the flight, typically below 800 feet msl. Ground speeds also varied, between a maximum of 156 knots, and 54 knots near the accident site.
Responders found blood at the scene, but the occupant(s) of the airplane could not be located. FAA photographs revealed that the airplane came to rest next to a large tree. Tree damage was apparent almost directly above the wreckage, and there was no evidence of forward motion of the airplane.
According to a responding FAA inspector, the airplane appeared to have descended vertically through the trees. The propeller had one undamaged blade sticking up through fallen tree debris. There was no odor of fuel around the airplane, no fuel in the left tank, and the inspector couldn't tell if there was any fuel in the right tank. The owner of the airplane had arrived prior to the inspector, and had placed the fuel selector into the off position. The owner had also stated to the inspector that the airplane's fuel tanks had been full the last time he saw it and that there were 1.9 additional hours on the Hobbs meter.
According to aircraft recovery personnel, there was no postcrash fire, and no significant amount of fuel could be found either onboard the airplane or seeped into the ground when the airplane was dismantled and removed for transport.
The departure airport was owned by the University of North Carolina. On August 18, 2011, a suspect was arrested and transported to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Public Safety, where he was charged with larceny of the airplane.
According to a detective, the suspect refused to provide a statement. FAA records for the suspect indicated that he had obtained a student pilot certificate in 2004, which expired in 2009. As of March 13, 2012, the suspect's next court date for the larceny charge was scheduled for April 10, 2012.
The detective also noted that other airplanes on the ramp were found to have been tampered with, but that it could not be verified as to when the tampering occurred.
http://registry.faa.gov/N492ST
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N492ST
Photos: http://www.newsobserver.com
ALAMANCE COUNTY -- Authorities continued searching Tuesday night for the pilot that was injured when the plane he stole crashed.
Civil Air Patrol in Burlington began the search when blood was discovered in the empty cockpit of the aircraft.
The plane can seat up to five passengers and one pilot, but there was no indication how many people were on board at the time of the crash, said Chuck Pickard, on-duty supervisor at Alamance sheriff’s office.
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The plane was stolen from Horace Williams Airport sometime after 9 p.m. Monday night, said Randy Jones, public information officer at the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office.
The Civil Air Patrol was alerted of the plane’s crash by a distress beacon at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning.
The beacon is designed to automatically activate after a certain amount of force is made such as in a crash, said Lt. Col. David Crawford, search incident commander with Civil Air Patrol.
The plane was located between 11 and 11:30 a.m. in woods near Wildlife Club Road with no sign of anyone on or around the plane, Crawford said.
There were no indications of a fire at the scene. Tree limbs left heavy damage on the plane, according to News & Observer Staff Photographer Harry Lynch, who was at the scene.
The search was ended at 4:45 p.m. Tuesday night after rescuers thoroughly searched the area, Jones said.
According to Jones, UNC-CH has developed a suspect in the case.
“We just know that there’s been one has been identified and last I heard they were searching for this individual in Chapel Hill,” Jones said.
UNC-CH cannot confirm or deny that a suspect has been identified, said Randy Young, spokesman for UNC-CH department of public safety.
However, if an arrest made, he expected it to be made Tuesday night or Wednesday.
The aircraft, a Piper PA-32R, is registered to LFW Investments LLC in Hillsborough, N.C., according to the FAA registry.
Efforts to reach Larry Warren, owner of LFW Investments LLC, were unsuccessful.
Photos: http://www.newsobserver.com
Alamance County, NC -- Rescue crews are searching for the pilot that crashed a stolen plane in southern Alamance County.
The plane was found empty in a wooded area on Wildlife Club Road. The location is off NC 87 between Graham and Eli Whitney. Investigators said the plane, a Piper PA-32R-301T, was stolen from Horace Williams Airport in Chapel Hill sometime overnight.
David Leonard with Alamance County Emergency Management said when rescue crews responding to the scene, they found nobody in the plane. First responders reported that there was some blood found in the cockpit.
Leonard said they were alerted to the location of the plane by Civil Air Patrol around 12:30pm. The Civil Air Patrol first received an alert from the plane's locator beacon around 7am.
Rescue crews and sheriff's deputies are conducting a canine search and land grid search in the area near where the plane was found to search for the pilot or anyone that may have been on the plane.
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A small plane was stolen between 9 p.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday from Horace Williams Airport, University spokesman Randy Young said.
The plane was later found crashed on Wildlife Club Road off of Highway 87 just outside Graham, Young said.
The individual or individuals who stole the plane have not been found, said David Leonard, emergency management coordinator of Alamance County Emergency Operations.
He said emergency crews are holding a grid ground-search to find whoever crashed the plane. He said that crews who responded to the scene reported blood in the cockpit of the plane.
“Someone may have been injured,” Leonard said. “We’re still actively searching the ground now.”
Randy Jones, public information officer for Alamance County Sheriff’s Department, said the pilot’s injuries are probably minor.
He said something — probably the crash — triggered the plane’s emergency beacon at 4:53 a.m. Tuesday, and the Civil Air Patrol crews began a ground search at around 7 a.m. after tracking the plane to Alamance County. They found the plane at approximately 12:18 p.m.
The tail number on the plane is N492ST, confirmed Paul J. Burke, Jr., manager of Horace Williams Airport.
That number is registered to a 200 Piper Aircraft single-engine plane, according to the Federal Aviation Administration website. The registered owner is listed as LFW Investments LLC, which lists a post office box in Hillsborough as an address.
The company is registered to Larry Warren, according to the N.C. Department of the Secretary of State.
Authorities discovered that the plane had been stolen after finding the crashed plane and contacting the owner — who said he thought the plane was parked in an Orange County airport — based on its tail number registration, Jones said.
Jones said the Civil Air Patrol alerted the Alamance County Sheriff’s Department when it found the plane, and the office commenced a grid search and a canine search for the pilot around 12:45 p.m.
The investigation into the crash itself will be completed by the Federal Aviation Authority, and the offense investigation from the theft will fall under the jurisdiction of the University’s Department of Public Safety, Jones said.
Young said there has been little concern in the past about the security of Horace Williams. But he said this incident could change that.
“If we receive any voiced or shown concern, then we will respond appropriately,” he said.
Source: http://www.dailytarheel.com
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