# Accident 19990506005159A: Piper PA28RT201T, Plymouth, MA, May 6, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 6, 1999, 15:18 local time - Place: Plymouth, MA - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 42.2302° N, 71.5292° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.2302&lon=-71.5292&mi=10 - Aircraft: N8235Z, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8235Z-2003-10-31) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28RT-201T (registry code 7102817, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28rt-201t) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental TSIO-360 series (registry code 17019, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-360-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28RT201T - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 2,800 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC99FAMS3](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC99FAMS3) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990506005159A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT HAS BEEN MISSING AND THE SUBJECT OF AN ALNOT SINCE ITS DEPARTURE FROM NORWOOD, MA, ON 5/6/99, THE SEARCH HAS BEEN SUSPENDED, AND THE PILOT/SOLE OCCUPANT IS ASSUMED TO HAVE SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES, ALL OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME, THE ACFT MAY HAVE GONE DOWN NEAR ITS DEPARTURE POINT OF NORWOOD, MA. (.19) ON MAY 6, 1999, ABOUT 1518 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA 28RT-210T, N8235Z, WAS PRESUMED DESTROYED WHEN IT DISAPPEARED FROM RADAR, NEAR PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS. AS OF JULY 26, 1999, THE AIRPLANE HAD NOT BEEN LOCATED, AND THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT WAS PRESUMED FATAL. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE FLIGHT THAT DEPARTED THE NORWOOD MEMORIAL AIRPORT (OWD), ABOUT 1445. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. THERE WERE NO KNOWN COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE AIRPLANE. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL RADAR BEGAN TRACKING A TARGET SQUAWKING 1200 IN THE NORWOOD AREA, ABOUT THE SAME TIME THE MISSING AIRPLANE WAS SUSPECTED OF DEPARTING. THE TARGET TRACKED SOUTHBOUND TO A POINT 5 MILES SOUTH OF THE TAUNTON AIRPORT, THEN TURNED EASTBOUND AT 1506:02. AT THAT TIME, THE ALTITUDE OF THE TARGET WAS 1,100 FEET. AT 1506:14, AT 41 DEGREES, 49 MINUTES, 83 SECONDS, NORTH LATITUDE, AND 70 DEGREES, 49 MINUTES, 22 SECONDS, WEST LONGITUDE, RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST. AT 1518:14, A TARGET WAS OBSERVED AT 41 DEGREES, 50 MINUTES, 32 SECONDS, NORTH LATITUDE, 70 DEGREES, 46 MINUTES, WEST LONGITUDE, AT AN ALTITUDE OF 500 FEET. THERE WERE NO FURTHER CONTACTS. ACCORDING TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA), THERE WAS NO RECORD THAT THE PILOT HAD OBTAINED A WEATHER BRIEFING FROM A FLIGHT SERVICE STATION PRIOR TO THE FLIGHT. THE WEATHER REPORTED AT OWD, AT 1453, AND 1535, WAS AS FOLLOWS: 1453: WINDS 070 AT 8 KNOTS; VISIBILITY 7 MILES; FEW CLOUDS AT 3,200 FEET; TEMPERATURE 66 DEGREES F; DEWPOINT 61 DEGREES F.; 1535: WINDS 050 AT 7 KNOTS; VISIBILITY 10 MILES; CEILING 2,800 FEET OVERCAST; TEMPERATURE 64 DEGREES F; DEWPOINT 59 DEGREES F. THE WEATHER REPORTED AT THE PLYMOUTH AIRPORT, WHICH WAS LOCATED ABOUT 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF THE WHAT WAS BELIEVED TO BE THE AIRPLANE'S LAST KNOWN POSITION, WAS AS FOLLOWS: 1452: WINDS 070 AT 11 KNOTS; VISIBILITY 10 MILES; BROKEN CLOUD LAYERS AT 500, 1,800 AND 2,500 FEET; TEMPERATURE 55 DEGREES F; DEWPOINT 52 DEGREES F.; 1552: WINDS 060 AT 5 KNOTS; VISIBILITY 10 MILES; C EILING 500 OVERCAST, TEMPERATURE 55 DEGREES F; DEWPOINT 52 DEGREES F. THE PILOT WAS INSTRUMENT RATED AND REPORTED 2,900 HOURS OF TOTAL FLIGHT EXPERIENCE ON HIS LAST APPLICATION FOR AN FAA THIRD CLASS MEDICAL CERTIFICATE, WHICH WAS ISSUED ON MAY 29, 1999. (-23)AIRCRAFT AND PILOT ARE MISSING. NO EVIDENCE OF EITHER HAVE BEEN FOUND. DOCUMENT BEING SUBMITTED BY REQUEST OF AAI. ## 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 NYC99FAMS3](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC99FAMS3), May 6, 1999: Piper PA28RT-201T (N8235Z), Plymouth, MA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: undetermined (missing airplane) 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.