375 Final NTSB Report on Night Crash that Killed a ND Senator and family + GA News

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4.8 • 730 Ratings

🗓️ 15 March 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Max talks about the NTSB’s final report on the fatal crash of a Piper PA-28-140 in Moab, Utah, in October 2023. The crash killed a North Dakota State Senator, his wife, and their two children. The probable cause was spatial disorientation due to somatogravic illusion, leading to controlled flight into terrain.

Despite being an experienced military helicopter pilot with over 2,000 flight hours, the pilot had limited fixed-wing and night-flying experience. The crash occurred on a dark night with no moon, conditions that significantly increase accident risk. ADS-B data shows the aircraft climbed slightly, then turned right while accelerating, ultimately descending into terrain.

Max explains how somatogravic illusion can mislead pilots into believing they are climbing when they are actually level or descending. He discusses night flying risks, noting that while only about 5% of personal flights occur at night, 20% of fatal accidents do. He emphasizes better planning, including avoiding night takeoffs when possible, delaying turns until reaching a safe altitude, and using a disciplined instrument scan to prevent fixation. He also suggests time-saving strategies like using food delivery services to avoid unnecessary delays that push departures into nighttime conditions.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Today we're talking about the fatal night crash of a Piper Cherokee cruiser in Moab, Utah in October, 2003.
0:09.2	That crash killed a North Dakota state senator in his family.
0:13.1	The NTSB final report is out, and we'll talk about how some autographic illusion tripped up this high-time pilot
0:19.3	and about some of the things you may want to do
0:21.4	differently when you fly at night. And during my updates, I'll be talking about crosswind landings.
0:27.3	Hello again and welcome to Aviation News Talk, where we talk in general aviation. My name is Max Truscott.
0:32.3	I've been flying for 50 years. I'm the author of several books and the 2008 National Flight
0:36.3	Instructor of the Year. And my mission is to help you become the safest possible pilot. Earlier this week in
0:42.8	episode 374, we talked about new information in the NTSB's preliminary report for the mid-air
0:49.0	collision in Washington, D.C. So if you didn't hear that episode, you may want to check it out
0:53.3	at the Aviation Newstalk.com slash 374. And if you're new to the show, if you would take a
0:58.5	moment right now and touch either the subscribe key or the follow key so that next week's
1:03.2	episode is downloaded for free. And thanks to these people who've signed up in the past
1:07.5	week to support Aviation News Talk, they include Martin Stolfa and Rich Selman.
1:12.8	And if you'd like to hear your name next week, stop what you're doing right now and take a moment
1:16.5	to go out to AviationNewsdoc.com slash support and sign up to join the club.
1:21.5	Coming up in the news for the week of March 10th, 2025, the Citation Jet crashed on takeoff,
1:27.2	killing the pilot. Police report the two pilots
1:30.0	argued over the radio before a mid-air collision, and we have two stories about drones and guns.
1:36.6	All this and more, and the news starts now.
1:43.2	From flight safety.org, in what's starting to look like a bad year for business jet crashes,
1:49.2	a Cessna Citation 525 jet taking off from Mesquite, Texas, crashed shortly after taking off Thursday morning.
	...

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