Date & Time:
Aug 18, 1995 at 1642 LT
Type of aircraft:
Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain
Operator:
Pietsch Flying Service
Registration:
N85115
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Executive/Corporate/Business
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Thief River Falls - Minot
MSN:
31-7405182
YOM:
1974
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
1
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
2
Captain / Total hours on type:
3000
Aircraft flight hours:
8814
Circumstances:
After deplaning passengers at Thief River Falls after an air taxi flight, the pilot was reportedly anxious to return to his base in Minot to prepare for another trip the following day, and left for the return trip within a few minutes after his arrival at Thief River Falls. There was no record of a weather briefing. Observations of Doppler radar by the University of North Dakota, and a Safety Board meteorological study, show that the airplane had penetrated a thunderstorm when control was lost. The airplane had encountered the center of a microburst, and was located directly under the downdraft.
Probable cause:
The pilot-in-command's continuing flight into adverse weather. Factors were the pilot-in-command's failure to obtain a weather observation and the adverse weather.
Final Report:
N85115.pdf98.68 KB
