PiperSeneca

At about 19:50 eastern time, a Piper PA-34-200T struck the ground while on approach to Mercer County Airport. The pilot was not injured. The pilot was flying the airplane from Lewisburg, where it had gotten its annual inspection. When he arrived at Bluefield, the ASOS was reporting a ceiling of 100 feet with fog. He shot the approach anyway, but missed it. He attempted a second ILS and missed that one, too. He was about to divert to another airport when an employee of the Bluefield FBO asked over the radio if he would like the approach lights turned up. He decided to try a third approach. As he was looking for the lights, he descended into trees and crashed….

At about 15:10 eastern time, a Piper PA-34-200 struck trees and caught fire while on approach to runway 24 at Flagler County Airport. The commercial rated-check pilot, the commercial rated-pilot, and commercial rated-pilot/passenger reported serious injuries. The flight was intended to give two company instructors multi-engine instructor standardization check rides. The check pilot was in the left seat at the time of the accident, the right seat pilot was taking the check ride. The pilot/passenger was in the right middle seat and was observing. Witnesses said the airplane was flying low above the trees, then pitched nose low, struck trees and crashed on a four-lane road. Post-crash investiga…

At about 16:00 eastern time, a Piper PA-34-200T was damaged during landing at Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The flight instructor and pilot were not injured. The flight instructor said the two checked the gear several times during the approach and followed the prelanding checklist. After a smooth landing, the airplane was rolling to a stop when the right main landing gear collapsed. The airplane veered to the right, and the right wing struck a runway light and the nose gear collapsed. A witness said all three wheels appeared down at the time of landing….

At 14:35 eastern time, a Piper PA-34-200T struck rocks while making a forced landing onto the shoreline at Petoskey after apparently running out of fuel. IMC prevailed. The pilot and one passenger suffered minor injuries, while five other passengers were uninjured. The pilot had flown to Mackinac Island the previous evening and the pilot calculated he had enough fuel to get from Mackinac Island to Pellston, Mich. (Fuel is unavailable at Mackinac Island.) He had about 12 gallons in each tank at takeoff and Pellston was about 10 minutes away. The pilot said the vectors he was given resulted in a 90-degree intercept of the final approach course and he flew through the localizer. The controller…

At 2135 eastern time, a Piper PA-34-200T crashed while executing the ILS/DME RWY 36 approach into Waterbury-Oxford Airport, killing the pilot. Witnesses reported hearing the engines at moderate power, then the power decreased for a few seconds before revving to full power. The crash site was about 2,000 feet southeast of runway 36. Weather reported at the time included wind from 210 degrees at 5 knots, gusting to 15 visibility 2-3 miles, ceiling 200-300 feet overcast, temperature 54 degrees F, dewpoint 51 degrees F….

At approximately 1100 mountain time, a Piper PA-34-200T crashed in cruise flight near Alpine. The pilot and passenger were killed. The flight was IFR from Cal Black Memorial Airport to Provo Municipal Airport. After breaking out into VFR conditions, the pilot cancelled the IFR flight plan and proceeded under VFR to Salt Lake City Municipal Airport #2. Witnesses saw the airplane flying at 500 to 1,000 feet agl until it disappeared into a fog-shrouded area of higher terrain….

At 1153 eastern time, a Piper PA-34-200T suffered an in-flight breakup near Apex, killing the pilot and passenger. The flight was cleared for the ILS Runway 5R approach to Raleigh-Durham International Airport and was 9.3 nautical miles from the airport. The pilot was given a radar vector to intercept the localizer. Witnesses reported hearing the airplane, then seeing the airplane come out of the fog straight down, with one wing coming down separately and debris falling after….