Piper PA-32R-301T accident near Defiance, Ohio, September 26, 2007
On September 26, 2007 at about 2:33 pm local time, a Piper PA-32R-301T, registered N8341G, was destroyed in an accident near Defiance, Ohio. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's spatial disorientation when he encountered convective turbulence which resulted in a loss of control. This encounter resulted in an in-flight break up. Contributing to the accident was the convective turbulence in the clouds.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 26, 2007 · about 2:33 pm local time
- Place
- Defiance, Ohio · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-301T · all PA-32R-301Ts on the register
- Registration
- N8341G · no longer on the register · serial 32R-8129046
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was in cruise flight about 7,000 feet mean sea level (msl). At 1032:27, air traffic control (ATC) instructed the pilot to descend from 7,000 feet to 3,000 feet msl, and the pilot acknowledged the descent instructions. ATC's last radar contact with the airplane was at 1032:53, and the airplane's altitude was about 6,500 feet msl. The pilot made no distress call and he did not indicate that the airplane was experiencing any mechanical difficulty. Witnesses reported hearing the airplane when it was in the clouds for about a minute with the sound of the engine getting louder and louder. When it descended out of the clouds, the airplane was in about a 45-degree nose down attitude and spinning rapidly. The oscillating engine noise grew increasingly louder as it descended, and it appeared that the airplane was missing part of one of its wings. The airplane suddenly nosed straight down and impacted the ground in a steep, nose down attitude. The left wing's fracture surfaces were consistent with an overstress fracture. The inspection of the airplane revealed no deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation. Weather radar depicted a narrow line of echoes in the vicinity of the accident site. A band of cumulus clouds was over or in the immediate vicinity of the accident site at the time of the accident with cumulonimbus type clouds to the west and southwest of the accident site. The weather radar spectrum width depicted an area of shear between 12 to 24 knots along the last known position of the accident airplane and the accident site. It indicated significant wind velocities and turbulence along the flight track.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,949 hours in all; 52 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: March 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,720 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 2007; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-S1AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: C81 Grayslake IL at 1:12 pm
- Destination: FDY Findlay OH
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,400 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 2:11 pm from DFI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.