Piper PA-28-181 accident near Waseca, Minnesota, January 23, 1994
On January 23, 1994 at about 1:05 am local time, a Piper PA-28-181, registered N4510N, was destroyed in an accident near Waseca, Minnesota. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT BY THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT ALTITUDE (OR CLEARANCE) ABOVE THE GROUND. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: AN INACCURATE WEATHER FORECAST BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, OPERATION OF THE AIRCRAFT BY THE PILOT WITH A KNOWN DEFICIENCY IN EQUIPMENT (RADIO), DARKNESS, THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, THE PILOT'S PROBABLE SPATIAL DISORIENTATION, AND HIS LACK OF INSTRUMENT EXPERIENCE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 23, 1994 · about 1:05 am local time
- Place
- Waseca, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181 · all PA-28-181s on the register
- Registration
- N4510N · registry record · serial 28-8090035
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT GOT A WX BRIEFING AT ABOUT 1600 CST FROM THE MINNESOTA WX ADVISORY SERVICE & DEPARTED MANKATO ON A FLIGHT TO ROCHESTER. EN ROUTE, HE HAD A RADIO PROBLEM, BUT RECEIVED LIGHT SIGNALS FROM TOWER FOR CLEARANCE TO LAND. HE ARRANGED FOR LIGHT SIGNALS TO TAKEOFF & DEPARTED IN CLEAR WEATHER AT ABOUT 1810 ON A NIGHT FLIGHT BACK TO MANKATO. BY THAT TIME, MANKATO WX WAS 900' TO 1100' BROKEN WITH DECREASING VISIBILITY. BEFORE REACHING MANKATO, THE PLANE REVERSED COURSE & CRASHED IN A SNOW COVERED FIELD (1-1/4 MI NW OF WASECA AIRPORT, HDG 100 DEG, ELEV 1020'). RADAR DATA SHOWED IT HAD MANEUVERED BETWEEN 2000' & 5300' BEFORE DESCENDING BELOW RADAR COVERAGE AT 2200'. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE WAS FOUND. LOCAL RESIDENTS SAID THE WEATHER CHANGED ABRUPTLY BETWEEN 1830 & 1900, WHEN A DENSE FOG DEVELOPED. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED AT ABOUT 1905. LOGBOOK RECORDS SHOWED THE PILOT HAD 117 HOURS TOTAL FLIGHT TIME, INCLUDING 2 HRS SIMULATED INSTRUMENT TIME. FOG WAS NOT FORECAST UNTIL AN AMENDED FORECAST WAS ISSUED AT ABOUT 1945.
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
- Flight time: 117 hours in all; 23 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 79 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,837 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 7, 1993; 96 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4M (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Northstar Aviation, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: RST Rochester MN
- Destination: MKT Mankato MN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 200° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 0.5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 100 ft; not recorded at 100 ft
- Temperature: 21°F (-6°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:55 am from MKT, 18 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.