# Accident 19880303016669A: Piper PA24400, Midland, TX, March 3, 1988

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 3, 1988, 14:00 local time
- Place: Midland, TX
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 31.9973° N, 102.0779° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Midland, TX, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.9973&lon=-102.0779&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8496P, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8496P-1989-09-25) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-24-400 (registry code 7102408, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-400) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA24400
- Reported engine: LYC IO720A1A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,050 total, 170 in this make and model, 58 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW88LA076](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW88LA076) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19880303016669A

## Narrative

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

ENCOUNTERED SEVERE TURBULENCE CAUSING STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WHILE FLYING THRU TOP OF CUMULUS CLOUD. TURBULENCE FORECAST

## 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 FTW88LA076](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW88LA076), Mar 3, 1988: Piper PA-24-400 (N8496P), Midland, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: ENCOUNTER WITH SEVERE TURBULENCE WITHIN TOPS OF CONVECTIVE CLOUDS. LEADING TO THIS WAS THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO PROPERLY EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL DANGER OF THE CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY, WHICH HE CHOSE TO…

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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