# Accident 19971223039579A: Piper PA28181, Tallahassee, FL, December 23, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 23, 1997, 18:14 local time
- Place: Tallahassee, FL
- Airport: Tallahassee Regionall Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.3897° N, 84.5100° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.3897&lon=-84.5100&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8074Z, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8074Z-2001-05-09) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-181 (registry code 7102807, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-181) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28181
- Reported engine: LYC O360A4M
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 3,200 total, 950 in this make and model, 25 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL98FA030](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98FA030) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971223039579A

## Narrative

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

STRUCK WIRES AND TREES DURING NIGHT ILS APPROACH. DESCENDED BELOW DH. (.4)THE PILOT WAS EXECUTING THE ILS RUNWAY 36 APPROACH WHEN THE AIRPLANE STRUCK A 150 FOOT HIGH POWER LINE, LOCATED ABOUT 2.5 MILES SOUTH OF THE AIRPORT.  THE LOCAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER STATED THAT SHORTLY AFTER CLEARING THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE TO LAND, THE TOWER HAD A POWER INTERRUPTION WHICH CAUSED THE RADAR TO BLINK AND GET SKEWED.  SHE THEN NOTICED THE AIRPLANE'S DATA BLOCK DISAPPEARED.  PRIOR TO THE POWER OUTAGE, SHE HAD BEEN LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW TO CHECK THE WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND DID NOT NOTICE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRPLANE.  THE APPROACH CONTROLLER STATED HE DID NOT NOTICE ANYTHING UNUSUAL WITH THE AIRPLANE AFTER HANDING IT OFF TO THE TOWER.  HE STATED THE AIRPLANE'S ALTITUDE APPEARED NORMAL, AND HE DID NOT SEE IT DEVIATE FROM THE LOCALIZER.  ACCORDING TO THE SUPERVISOR, HE SAW A LOW ALTITUDE ALERT FOR THE AIRPLANE, WHICH WAS FOLLOWED SHORTLY BY THE INTERRUPTION OF POWER TO THE BUILDING.  HE DID NOT SEE THE AIRPLANE MAKE ANY LATERAL DEVIATIONS FROM THE LOCALIZER. THE REPORTED WEATHER CONSISTED OF A  500 FEET OVERCAST AND 3                                                                                MILES VISIBILITY. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE DID NOT DISCLOSE EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL MALFUCTION.  THE MINIMUM ALTITUDE FOR THE APPROACH WAS 376 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND.  A FLIGHT TEST OF THE ILS NAVIGATIONAL FACILITY DID NOT DISCLOSE ANOMALIES.                                                        (-23) PILOT WAS MAKING AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH AT THE TALLAHASSEE REGIONAL AIRPORT. FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON THE PILOT WAS WELL BELOW HIS GLIDE PATH. THE AIRPLANE STRUCK POWERLINES APPROXIMATELY 2.5 MILES SOUTH OF RUNWAY 36. THE AIRPLANE WAS DEMOLISHED RESULTING IN TWO FATALITIES. (PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER).

## 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 ATL98FA030](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98FA030), Dec 23, 1997: Piper PA-28-181 (N8074Z), Tallahassee, FL, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain the proper glidepath and adequate obstacle clearance which resulted in collision with a power transmission line.

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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