# Accident 19901208064629A: Piper PA28180, Hickory, NC, December 8, 1990

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 8, 1990, 16:00 local time
- Place: Hickory, NC
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.7332° N, 81.3412° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Hickory, NC, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.7332&lon=-81.3412&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9685J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9685J-2023-02-04) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-180 (registry code 7102808, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-180) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28180
- Reported engine: LYC O360A4A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 233 total, 180 in this make and model, 13 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL91LA034](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL91LA034) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19901208064629A

## Narrative

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

STRUCK A POWERLINE FLYING LOW OVER RIVER. IMPACT SHEARED  TOP OF VERTICAL STABILIZER AND ENTIRE RUDDER. LANDED SAFE

## 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 ATL91LA034](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL91LA034), Dec 8, 1990: Piper PA-28-180 (N9685J), Hickory, NC, substantial damage. Probable cause: THE PILOTS'S INADEQUATE VISUAL LOOKOUT DURING FLIGHT. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A SAFE ALTITUDE.

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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