Wreckage... Was Spread Over A Distance Of 0.8 Miles... Consistent With An In-Flight Break-Up

Location: Metz, West Virginia Accident Number: ERA22FA368
Date & Time: August 11, 2022, 18:05 Local Registration: N720RP
Aircraft: Piper PA32 Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: VFR encounter with IMC Injuries: 3 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

Analysis: The non-instrument-rated pilot was in cruise flight when he advised the air traffic controller that he was looking at his cockpit weather radar display and requested a deviation between what he described as a gap between radar echoes. The airplane subsequently transitioned through echoes consistent with areas of light, moderate, heavy, and then extreme precipitation before track data depicted a steep, descending right turn that continued until contact with the airplane was lost in the vicinity of the accident site.

The damage to the airplane and the distribution of the wreckage, which was spread over a distance of 0.8 miles, were consistent with an in-flight break-up. Examination of the wreckage revealed fracture surfaces consistent with overstress failure, and no evidence of preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have prevented normal operation of the airplane. The extent of the pilot’s preflight weather planning activities could not be determined, as there was no record of him obtaining weather information from an access-controlled source. Based on his communications with air traffic control, the pilot was aware of the convective activity along his route of flight and was likely using his cockpit Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD) weather display for tactical weather avoidance decisions, and not accounting for the latencies inherent to the processes used to create and deliver this imagery to an inflight display. 

Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be -- The non-instrument-rated pilot’s intentional visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions based on latent weather information, which resulted in the airplane entering extreme precipitation, a loss of aircraft control, and in-flight break-up.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov