# Accident 19881119051289A: Piper PA28RT201T, Morgantown, WV, November 19, 1988

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 19, 1988, 12:07 local time
- Place: Morgantown, WV
- Airport: Morgantown Municipal-Walter L Bill
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.6375° N, 79.9469° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Morgantown, WV, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.6375&lon=-79.9469&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2153U, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2153U-2013-07-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28RT-201T (registry code 7102817, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28rt-201t) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental TSIO-360 series (registry code 17019, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28RT201T
- Reported engine: CONT TSIO360FB
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 1,513 total, 539 in this make and model, 26 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC89FA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC89FA036) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19881119051289A

## Narrative

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

DEPARTED IFR INTO KNOWN ICING AND SEVERE TURBULENCE. TURNED BACK BUT LOST CONTROL ON DESCENT. AIRCRAFT CAME APART.

## 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 NYC89FA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC89FA036), Nov 19, 1988: Piper PA-28RT-201T (N2153U), Gans, PA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: PILOT'S BAD JUDGEMENT IN FLYING IN WEATHER CONDITIONS BEYOND THE CAPABILITIES OF HIS AIRCRAFT. THE PILOT OVERSTRESSED THE AIRCRAFT AND SHEARED THE LEFT WING BY MAKING AN ABRUPT TURN IN TURBULENT AIR…

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.