Piper safety

The left engine failed and the right engine malfunctioned when a Piper Chieftain was being flown over a gulf in Australia. The airplane did not have — and was not required to have — life vests aboard for the scheduled flight. None of the eight occupants survived the ditching.

The pilot hand-flew an unstabilized approach below the glideslope and continued the descent until the Piper Chieftain struck terrain. New Zealand investigators cited high workload and possible distraction by a cellular telephone call as factors in the controlled flight into terrain.

After descending below the published minimum descent altitude for the nondirectional beacon (NDB) approach, the commander began a missed approach as the aircraft struck trees. A three-foot section of the right wing was torn away; the crew diverted the aircraft to another airport, where they landed safely.