# Accident 19770506023009A: Piper PA31, Taplin, WV, May 6, 1977

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 6, 1977
- Place: Taplin, WV
- Airport: Mcdonald Field
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Location: 37.7584° N, 81.8957° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Taplin, WV, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.7584&lon=-81.8957&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7439L, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7439L-1977-10-14) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31-310 (registry code 7103102, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-310) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA31
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 18,000 total, 1,000 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD77FA039](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD77FA039) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19770506023009A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

CRASHED APRX 1/2MI EAST OF FIELD.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB IAD77FA039](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD77FA039), May 6, 1977: Piper PA-31 (N7439L), Taplin, WV, destroyed, 3 fatal

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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