At about 03:15 central time, a Piper PA-28-180 crashed about -mile north of runway 17 during an instrument approach to Stillwater Municipal Airport. The non-instrument rated pilot was killed and the passenger was seriously injured. An IFR flight plan was filed for the cross-country flight that departed Hays, Kan., at 01:10 en route to Stillwater. The pilot had flown to Stillwater from Cullman, Ala., with his wife, arriving Nov. 22 at about 18:30. At about 21:45 he left alone, flew to Hays and picked up his daughter. He refueled and filed an IFR flight plan back to Stillman, departing Nov. 23 at about 01:10. When he arrived at Stillman, visibility was 4 miles in light rain and mist, ceiling 300 feet and temperature and dewpoint were both 9 degrees C. The pilot missed one approach and was vectored for a second one when radar contact was lost. In the three years since he got his license, the pilot logged 818 hours of total flight time, including 5.4 hours simulated instrument flight, 224 hours at night and 270 hours of cross-country flight.
Nov. 23, Stillwater, Okla. / Piper Cherokee 180
At about 03:15 central time, a Piper PA-28-180 crashed about -mile north of runway 17 during an instrument approach to Stillwater Municipal Airport. The non-instrument rated pilot was killed and the passenger was seriously injured. An IFR flight plan was filed for the cross-country flight that departed Hays, Kan., at 01:10 en route to Stillwater. The pilot had flown to Stillwater from Cullman, Ala., with his wife, arriving Nov. 22 at about 18:30. At about 21:45 he left alone, flew to Hays and picked up his daughter. He refueled and filed an IFR flight plan back to Stillman, departing Nov. 23 at about 01:10. When he arrived at Stillman, visibility was 4 miles in light rain and mist, ceiling...
Key Takeaways:
- A non-instrument rated pilot crashed a Piper PA-28-180 during an instrument approach at Stillwater Municipal Airport, killing himself and seriously injuring his passenger.
- The accident occurred in poor weather conditions, including low visibility and a 300-foot ceiling, after the pilot had missed an initial approach.
- Despite filing an IFR flight plan, the pilot had only logged 5.4 hours of simulated instrument flight time out of 818 total flight hours.
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