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CHI89FA040

1989-01-02 · CARMEL, Indiana, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N2CL

Make / Model
PIPER PA-28RT-201T
Year of manufacture
1980 · 9 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR TSIO-360 SER (225 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19810112
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A18D8E

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S POOR UNDERSTANDING OF THE WEATHER FORECAST, HIS FAILURE TO UTILIZE THE PITOT HEAT IN ICING CONDITIONS AND THE EXCEEDING OF THE STRESS LIMITS OF THE AIRCRAFT.

Factual narrative

THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED FOR THE X-COUNTRY FLT IN IMC CONDITIONS. WHILE CLIMBING TO CRUISE, THE PLT EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF AIRCRAFT CONTROL FOLLOWED BY AN INFLIGHT SEPARATION OF BOTH WINGS AND THE EMPENNAGE. SUBSEQUENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED ICE BLOCKING THE PITOT/STATIC TUBE. ICING FORECASTS WERE VALID FOR THE PERIOD COVERING THE TIME OF THE FLIGHT AND THE PLT HAD RECEIVED A BRIEFING REGARDING POSSIBLE ICE. ALTHOUGH THE PITOT HEAT TESTED TO BE OPERATIONAL WHEN CHECKED DURING A POST ACCIDENT EXAM, THE PITOT HEAT SWITCH WAS FOUND IN THE OFF POSITION AFTER THE ACCIDENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_CHI89FA040.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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