Pilot Proficiency

On the Record: Piper PA-24

Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at 06:27 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

A Piper PA-24 crashed during an instrument approach in Sturgis, South Dakota, resulting in one serious and one minor injury.
Operating in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), the pilot failed to visually acquire the runway at decision altitude and did not execute the published missed approach procedure in a timely manner.
This delay led to the aircraft's right wing impacting a light pole during an attempted climb, causing the plane to pitch nose-down and impact terrain, an outcome the pilot admitted could have been prevented.

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Piper PA-24

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