# Accident 19980402039069A: Piper PA28235, New Orleans, LA, April 2, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 2, 1998, 22:32 local time
- Place: New Orleans, LA
- Airport: Lakefront Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.0424° N, 90.0282° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at LAKEFRONT (NEW), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.0424&lon=-90.0282&mi=10
- Aircraft: N21LL, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N21LL-1998-12-09) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-235 (registry code 7102810, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-235) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28235
- Reported engine: LYC O540B4B5
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 3
- Pilot flight hours: 300 total, 5 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA170](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA170) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980402039069A

## Narrative

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

THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED A LAKE FOLLOWING AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT AFTER THE PILOT EXPERIENCED SPATIAL DISORIENTATION AT NIGHT. AT 2228 THE PILOT REPORTED TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL THAT HE HAD A 'FULL FAILURE', ONE MINUTE LATER HE REPORTED A 'STATIC FAILURE', AND SUBSEQUENTLY, AT 2230 HE STATED THAT THE 'DG' WAS OUT OF ORDER. AT 2232 AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL LOST RADIO AND RADAR CONTACT WITH THE AIRPLANE. THE CONTROLLER WHO WAS TRACKING THE AIRPLANE STATED THAT IT APPEARED AS IF THE AIRPLANE WAS 'GOING AROUNG IN CIRCLES,' JUST BEFORE IT DISAPPEARED FROM THE RADAR SCOPE. A SURVIVOR WAS RESCUED FROM THE LAKE THE FOLLOWING MORNING AND REPORTED THAT THE PILOT TAPPED ON THE INSTRUMENT ' WITH THE BLUE HORIZON' AND STATED THAT 'THIS INSTRUMENT IS NOT WORKING'. POST-ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE VACUUM PUMP BY THE NTSB MATERIALS LABORATORY, REVEALED THAT THE VACUUM PUMP FAILED IN-FLIGHT. POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN TURN COORDINATOR DID OT PRODUCE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS FUNCTIONING AT IMPACT. (-23) THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN PROPER AIRCRAFT CONTROL AFTER THE AIRCRAFT VACUUM PUMP FAILED DURING FLIGHT. THE PASSENGER WHO SURVIVED THE AIR        CRAFT ACCIDENT HAS DECLINED TO MAKE ANY STATEMENTS TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION.

## 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 FTW98FA170](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA170), Apr 3, 1998: Piper PA-28-235 (N21LL), New Orleans, LA, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's inability to maintain control of the airplane after experiencing spatial disorientation. Factors were the total failure of the vacuum pump, fog, drizzle, and night conditions.

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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