# Accident 19971211038559A: Piper PA32260, Pittsville, MD, December 11, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 11, 1997, 22:35 local time
- Place: Pittsville, MD
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.3903° N, 75.4107° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.3903&lon=-75.4107&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3448W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3448W-1998-08-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32-260 (registry code 7103206, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-260) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA32260
- Reported engine: LYC O540E4B5
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 3
- Pilot flight hours: 600 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98FA041](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA041) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971211038559A

## Narrative

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

(TTY) ACFT CRASHED UND UNK CIRC, ALL 3 POB SUFFERED FATAL INJ. ACFT WAS DESTROYED. SALISBURY, MD. (.4)THE NONINSTRUMENT-RATED PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS DEPARTED FROM AN UNLIGHTED GRASS STRIP IN NIGHT INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC). A WITNESS, WHO OBSERVED THE TAKEOFF, STATED THE GROUND VISIBILITY WAS 1,200 FEET. A WITNESS, WHO LIVED NEAR THE ACCIDENT SITE, STATED THAT HE WAS IN BED WHEN HE WAS AWAKENED BY THE SOUND OF AN AIRPLANE APPROACHING. HE SAID THE ENGINE NOISE SOUNDED CONSTANT, AND AFTER THE AIRPLANE PASSED OVER HIS HOUSE, HE HEARD A 'THUD.'  THE MAIN WRECKAGE OF THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST IN A WOODED AREA, ABOUT 4.3 MILES FROM THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE DID NOT DISCLOSED ANY PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION. TOXICOLOGY TESTS OF THE PILOT SHOWED HE HAD A BLOOD/ALCOHOL LEVEL OF 102 MG/DL (0.102%) AND A URINE/ALCOHOL LEVEL OF 221 MG/DL (0.221%). BEFORE FLIGHT, THE PILOT HAD BEEN OBSERVED INGESTING ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES.

## 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 NYC98FA041](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA041), Dec 12, 1997: Piper PA-32-260 (N3448W), Pittsville, MD, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's impairment of judgment and performance due to alcohol, his resultant improper planning/decision and flight in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and his failure to maintain…

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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