# Accident 19961109034999A: Piper PA60600, New Bern, NC, November 9, 1996

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 9, 1996, 11:39 local time
- Place: New Bern, NC
- Airport: Craven County Regional Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.1103° N, 77.0692° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1103&lon=-77.0692&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8239J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8239J-1998-06-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper AEROSTAR 600 (registry code 7106001, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-aerostar-600) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA60600
- Reported engine: LYC IO540K1J5
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 3
- Pilot flight hours: 382 total, 5 in this make and model, 47 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA97FA020](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97FA020) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19961109034999A

## Narrative

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

LOCAL FLIGHT AT GROSS WEIGHT LOW FLIGHT LEVEL AND SPEED. STALLED IN PULLUP FLAT SPIN TO IMPACT. UNSKILLED PILOTS. (-23) AIRCRAFT DEPARTED NEW BERN AIRPORT AT 11:19 ON 11/09/96 FOR A LOCAL FLIGHT TO DO TOUCH-AND-GO LANDINGS. AT APPROXIMATELY 11:25, HUNTERS REPORTED SEEING AIRCRAFT FLYING LEVEL AND SLOW ABOVE WOODED AREA SOUTHEAST OF AIRPORT. AIRCRAFT WENT INTO LEFT TURN THEN IMMEDIATELY WENT NOSE DOWN.  AIRCRAFT DESCENDED INTO THE TREES.  EVIDENCE AT SITE INDICATED THE AIRCRAFT HIT THE GROUND IN A FLAT SPIN.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED WITH THREE FATALITIES.  SUSPECT STALL/SPIN.

## 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 MIA97FA020](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA97FA020), Nov 9, 1996: Piper PA-60-600 (N8239J), New Bern, NC, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed (VMC). Contributing to the accident was his lack of total experience in kind of aircraft.

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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