N8347PPiper PA-24-250 · 1964

On January 2, 2021, about 1541 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-24-250 airplane, N8347P, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near New Hudson, Michigan. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot and his passengers flew from Oakland Southwest Airport (Y47), New Hudson, Michigan, to Cherokee County Airport (CNI), Canton, Georgia, on December 29, 2020. The accident occurred on the return flight to Y47. There was no record that the pilot obtained a weather briefing or filed a flight plan on the day of the accident. The pilot and his passengers departed CNI at 1221 for the return trip and flew Global Positioning System (GPS) direct at 7,500 ft. The pilot was not instrument rated.

The following is based on Federal Aviation Administration Form 8020-6, Report of Aircraft Accident. At 1238, the pilot contacted Knoxville Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) and requested VFR (visual flight rules) flight following to Y47 at 7,500 ft. He was issued a discrete beacon code. The pilot was subsequently handed off to Atlanta and Indianapolis ARTCC; Lexington, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Toledo Air Traffic Control Towers (ATCT). At 1452, while talking to Toledo ATCT, the pilot advised he would have to “convert to IFR (instrument flight rules)” to descend to Y47. At 1456, air traffic control asked the pilot if he was ready to “go IFR” and the pilot responded that he was ready. The pilot was cleared direct to Y47 at 7,000 ft and later was told to contact Detroit (DTW) approach control.

At 1513, the pilot contacted DTW approach and was issued the DTW altimeter setting. The pilot asked if there were any pilot reports (PIREPs) for icing in the area. He was told there had not been any in the last hour. The pilot then asked for the VOR-A approach into Y47. He further stated that if he made a missed approach, he would proceed to Oakland County International Airport (PTK), Pontiac, Michigan.

The pilot was cleared to descend to 4,000 ft, then to 3,000 ft. At 1533, he was instructed to fly a heading of 020° to intercept the VOR final approach course to Y47. He was also given a PIREP from a Learjet pilot who had landed at Willow Run Airport (YIP), Ypsilanti, Michigan, located about 16 miles south of Y47. That pilot had reported the cloud base to be 300 ft with no ice descending through the layers. The pilot of N8347P responded that 300 ft “would not work for Y47.” He was then asked what his intentions were, and he replied that he would “give it [the approach] a shot.”

At 1535, the pilot was cleared for the VOR -A approach to Y47. [Although the pilot was cleared for the VOR-A approach, the VOR portion of the approach had been NOTAMed (Notice to Air Missions) unavailable. This notice was displayed on the Information Display System (IDS) at the radar position]. The controller told the pilot to change to the airport advisory frequency and to report back to him if he executed a missed approach or cancelled his IFR clearance after landing. This was the last radio contact with the airplane.

According to the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data the airplane approached Y47 at an altitude of about 2,000 ft and an airspeed of 100 knots (kts). It passed over the airport and decelerated in a left descending turn to 1,475 ft and 85 kts. The airplane entered a second tighter turn and descended to 1,150 ft and 60 kts. Track data was lost at 1541:20. The last recorded altitude and airspeed were 975 ft and 71 kts near the accident location.

A video taken from a home security camera, located at a dwelling across the street from the accident site, captured the accident sequence. The sound of an aircraft engine could be heard on the recording at the video time stamp of about 4:39:28. The sound goes away and returns, but louder, about 4:40:23. Once again, the sound disappears and then can be heard again with the airplane coming into view at 4:41:24 in a left wing low, nose low attitude. The wings leveled off and the nose was raised just before the airplane impacted the ground in a flat attitude. It slid across the ground and collided with a house. The airplane immediately caught fire and the house was set ablaze. No occupants in the house were injured, but a cat perished.

A pilot who was in his hangar at the airport and heard but did not see the airplane reported that it sounded like it was “quite high for landing.” He then heard the engine power increase as if the pilot were performing a go-around. He then heard the airplane make a second approach and once again he heard the engine power increase to “full throttle.” He reported that he assumed the pilot was performing another go-around, but the airplane did not return.

Copies of the pilot’s two logbooks were made available for review. Logbook 1 began on January 20, 2007, and ended on July 3, 2020. Logbook 2 began of July 2, 2020, and ended on November 26, 2020. According to these logbooks, the pilot started taking instrument instruction on April 3, 2007, and flew with an instructor under simulated conditions, logging 10.9 hours. The pilot continued logging simulated instrument time between September 19, 2007, and November 7, 2010, but there were no instructor signatures and no mention of a safety pilot. The simulated time totaled 8.3 hours. The pilot flew three more times with an instructor between July 6 and August 27, 2011, totaling 3.7 hours. Between October 14, 2011, and June 19, 2020, the pilot logged 38 flights under actual instrument conditions totaling 40.6 hours. None of those flights bore an instructor’s signature. His last recorded flight review was dated January 25, 2018.

The pilot then switched flight schools. Between July 2, 2020, and November 26, 2020, he flew 13.9 hours under simulated instrument conditions, 0.6 hours of which were with a flight instructor. Additionally, the pilot logged 2.8 hours under actual instrument conditions, none of which were with an instructor.

In summary, the pilot had logged 41.5 hours under simulated instrument conditions, 15.2 of those hours were with an instructor. Additionally, he had logged 99.6 hours under actual instrument conditions, 4.8 hour of which were with an instructor, for a total of 141.1 instrument hours. The last logbook entry indicates the pilot had logged 1,278.8 hours total time. Adding the 3.5 hours for the flight to CNI and the 3.6 hours for the accident flight, the pilot’s total flight time was no less than 1,278.8 hours.

A pilot who was at Y47 when the accident occurred reported the weather conditions “…. were not favorable for flying – fairly low ceiling, heavy clouds, light mist and rain with low temperatures.”

The wreckage was later examined by investigators from Piper Aircraft and Lycoming Engines under the supervision of an FAA inspector. The fuel selector was on the right auxiliary tank, the flaps were retracted, and the stabilator trim was between neutral and a slightly nose-up position. There were no preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operations.

An autopsy on the pilot was performed by the Oakland Country Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause of death was listed as Multiple Blunt Force Trauma.

Toxicological testing performed at the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory found no drugs of abuse.