19900828037049A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Piper PA-28R-180 · Richlands, VA · August 28, 1990

Date
August 28, 1990 · 02:03 local
Place
Richlands, VA
Airport
Richlands Municipal Airport
Phase of flight
Descent
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Destroyed
Aircraft
N885MA
NTSB investigation
NTSBBFO90FA073
Reported as
Piper PA28R180
Reported engine
Lycoming IO360B1E
People aboard
3
Fatal injuries
3
Pilot’s flight hours
126 total10 in this make and model20 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Flew into IMC at night. Indicates VFR low time pilot was descending to return to airport. Vertigo spiral dive.

As the FAA filed it

FLEW INTO IMC AT NIGHT. INDICATES VFR LOW TIME PILOT WAS DESCENDING TO RETURN TO AIRPORT. VERTIGO SPIRAL DIVE.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.