Piper PA-46 (Malibu/Meridian/Mira... crash, Sep 7, 2016 (1 killed)
Piper PA-46 (Malibu/Meridian/Mirage/Matrix/M-Class) accident on September 7, 2016 near Chariton, Iowa, United States with 1 fatality. Cause: NTSB: The...
- Date: September 7, 2016
- Aircraft: Piper PA-46 (Malibu/Meridian/Mirage/Matrix/M-Class)
- Location: Chariton, Iowa, United States
- Fatalities: 1
- Phase of flight: En route
- Cause: NTSB: The non instrument rated pilot's loss of control due to spatial disorientation in instrument meteorological conditions, resulting in exceedance of the airplane's design stress limits and an in flight breakup. Contributing was the pilot's decision to continue visual flight into convective conditions.
A Piper PA 46 310P Malibu owned by Wolf Aviation was on a private VFR cross country flight from Olathe, Kansas to Ankeny, Iowa, with one non instrument rated pilot aboard. The pilot deviated around thunderstorms under radar flight following, then began a descending right turn before radar contact was lost near Chariton, Iowa. The airplane broke up in flight and the pilot was killed; the NTSB (CEN16FA361) found spatial disorientation and overload failures of the empennage and wings.