Piper PA-32-301 accident near Hampshire, Illinois, December 23, 1997
On December 23, 1997, a Piper PA-32-301, registered N2586Y, was destroyed in an accident near Hampshire, Illinois (Casa De Aero Air Park airport). 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
the pilot's intentional flight into known icing conditions, and the accumulation of ice on the leading edges of the airplane's empennage and wings leading to the inadvertent stall/mush. A factor contributing to this accident was the icing conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 23, 1997
- Place
- Hampshire, Illinois · Casa De Aero Air Park · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-301 · all PA-32-301s on the register
- Registration
- N2586Y · no longer on the register · serial 32-8506007
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot received a weather briefing, and subsequently filed an IFR flight plan to the Casa De Aero Airport, Hampshire, Illinois. The Air Traffic Control Specialist asked the pilot if he had the AIRMETs for turbulence and IFR conditions along his route of flight. The pilot responded, 'Yeah, turbulence, icing and IFR, it's lovely.' While en route, the pilot contacted the Kankakee, Illinois, FSS, and requested weather conditions at DuPage County Airport, West Chicago, Illinois. The pilot was informed that DuPage was 400 feet agl overcast, 5 miles visibility and mist, temperature and dew point of 1 degree Celsius. The pilot then inquired about the weather at Madison, Wisconsin, and was told the weather was a broken ceiling of 800 feet agl, 1 1/2 mile visibility with light freezing drizzle, and a temperature of minus 1 degree Celsius. The pilot then checked in with the Chicago TRACON and reported level at 4,000 feet msl. At 1838, the controller cleared the pilot for the VOR alpha approach into Casa De Aero Airport, and subsequently told the pilot, 'frequency change is approved, and be sure you get to me to cancel [the IFR flight plan] please. I'm protecting the airspace.' At 1848, the airplane dropped below radar coverage and was not heard from again. The controller suspected that the airplane had landed. At 2200, a satellite mission control center began receiving the airplane's ELT signal. At 0230 cst, a CAP ground team narrowed the location of the ELT signal to a field behind a rural residence. Weather conditions precluded the ground team from entering the field until daybreak. The airplane was located at 0813 cst. Examination of the wreckage revealed areas of rime ice, approximately 1/4 inch thick adhering to the leading edges of the left and right horizontal stabilators, the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer, and along a 30-inch section of the leading edge of the right wing at mid-span. No other anomalies with the airplane were revealed.
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: 400 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,229 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 1, 1997; 127 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,615 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MSL Muscle Shoals AL at 9:08 pm
- Destination: C38
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 010° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.