March 31, Paris, Va. / Piper Comanche

At about 13:20 eastern time, a Piper PA-24-250 struck mountains near Paris, killing the pilot. IMC prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilots son said the airplane was being repositioned for an annual inspection. Examination of the wreckage found it was being operated on a mixture of auto gas and avgas. The seat belts were found unbuckled. An annual inspection had been performed at the departure airport, but the pilot was reportedly upset by the discrepancies noted. The mechanic noted in the logbooks that the airplane was unairworthy. The pilot did not obtain a ferry permit to reposition the airplane. The pilot reported more than 2,000 flight hours on his last medical application, but he had flown less than 3.5 hours in the last year.