Piper PA-46 (Malibu/Meridian/Mira... crash, Feb 23, 2004 (2 killed)
Piper PA-46 (Malibu/Meridian/Mirage/Matrix/M-Class) accident on February 23, 2004 near Arlington, Alabama, United States with 2 fatalities. Cause:...
- Date: February 23, 2004
- Aircraft: Piper PA-46 (Malibu/Meridian/Mirage/Matrix/M-Class)
- Location: Arlington, Alabama, United States
- Fatalities: 2
- Phase of flight: En route
- Cause: Pilot's inadequate in-flight planning and decision-making and failure to maintain aircraft control, resulting in an in-flight encounter with a thunderstorm and exceeding the aircraft's design limits.
A privately operated Piper PA-46-310P Malibu on an instrument flight from Panama City, Florida to Tulsa, Oklahoma, encountered severe turbulence and heavy rain in a thunderstorm area at 24,000 ft on 23 February 2004. It descended rapidly in a turn and broke up near Arlington, Alabama. Both occupants were killed, and the NTSB found the airframe design limits had been exceeded.