# Accident 19900308003549A: Piper PA30, Dayton, TN, March 8, 1990

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 8, 1990, 09:48 local time
- Place: Dayton, TN
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Climb
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.4902° N, 85.0095° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.4902&lon=-85.0095&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7123Y, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7123Y-1990-08-16) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-30 (registry code 7103002, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA30
- Reported engine: LYC IO320B1B
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 6,313 total, 1,770 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL90FA074](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL90FA074) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19900308003549A

## Narrative

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

VERTICAL IMPACT INTO RIVER. REPORT AUTOPILOT MALFUNCTION. HAD PRIOR PITCH TRIM TROUBLE. CHLORPHENIRAMINE-0.3MG/KG

## 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 ATL90FA074](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL90FA074), Mar 8, 1990: Piper PA-30 (N7123Y), Dayton, TN, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: THE PILOT'S INTENTIONAL USE OF AN AUTOPILOT WITH KNOWN DEFICIENCIES. THE PILOT KNOWINGLY RELIED ON THIS AUTOPILOT WHICH MALFUNCTIONED IN FLIGHT AND RESULTED IN HIS BECOMING SPATIALLY DISORIENTATED.

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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