Piper PA-32R-301 accident near Whitfield, Alabama, September 13, 2007
On September 13, 2007 at about 9:20 pm local time, a Piper PA-32R-301, registered N109PA, was destroyed in an accident near Whitfield, Alabama. It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was 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 thunderstorms.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 13, 2007 · about 9:20 pm local time
- Place
- Whitfield, Alabama · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-301 · all PA-32R-301s on the register
- Registration
- N109PA · registry record · serial 3246053
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane’s owner and his wife deplaned at their vacation destination, before the pilot departed on the return trip to the airplane’s home base. After a lengthy discussion about the approaching storm from the west, the pilot concurred with the owner on a route of flight that would take the airplane east, then north to avoid the storm, before eventually heading west towards its ultimate destination. Instead, the radar data depicted a northerly track for the airplane after departure, before it turned on a northwesterly track directly towards its destination. An air traffic controller advised the pilot of "significant" weather along his route of flight, the pilot acknowledged the radio call, and confirmed that he was "weather radar equipped." A Significant Meteorology Information (SIGMET) was issued for severe embedded thunderstorms in the area that included the route of flight at the time of the accident. Examination of weather radar data revealed "intense" and "extreme" weather in the area of the accident site at the time of the accident.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 530 hours in all; 84 in this make and model; 59 in the last 90 days; 27 in the last 30 days; 330 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 31, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,024 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 6, 2007; 76 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,615 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 SER (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JKA Gulf Shores AL at 8:34 pm
- Destination: JBR Jonesboro AR
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 2.5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.98 inHg
- Observation at 9:52 pm from NMM, 30 miles away
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.