# Accident 19960318004279A: Piper PA23250, Marion, VA, March 18, 1996

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 18, 1996, 01:00 local time
- Place: Marion, VA
- Airport: Mountain Empire Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Missed Approach IFR
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.8297° N, 81.5105° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.8297&lon=-81.5105&mi=10
- Aircraft: N54839, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N54839-1996-07-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-23-250 (registry code 7102308, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-23-250) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA23250
- Reported engine: LYC IO540C4B5
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 1,935 total, 318 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD96FA050](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD96FA050) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960318004279A

## Narrative

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

STRUCK TREES NEAR RUNWAY ON MISSED APPROACH. PILOT SAW RUNWAY BUT UNABLE LAND. BECAME BELOW MDA. DARK NIGHT.

## 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 IAD96FA050](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD96FA050), Mar 18, 1996: Piper PA-23-250 (N54839), Marion, VA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance during the instrument approach (FAF/Outer Marker to Threshold IFR), which resulted in the in-flight collision with trees. A related factor…

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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