# Accident 19990519005399A: Piper PA23250, Tucumcari, NM, May 19, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 19, 1999, 17:25 local time
- Place: Tucumcari, NM
- Airport: Tucumcari Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Go Round (Aborted VFR)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.1606° N, 103.7193° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1606&lon=-103.7193&mi=10
- Aircraft: N54263, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N54263-2003-01-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-23-250 (registry code 7102308, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-23-250) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA23250
- Reported engine: LYC TIO540C1A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 1,616 total, 729 in this make and model, 33 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN99FA081](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99FA081) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990519005399A

## Narrative

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

PILOT ADVISED THAT THE LEFT ENGINE WAS SMOKING BADLY AND THAT HE WAS FEATHERING THE PROPELLER AND RETURNING TO THE ARPT, THE ACFT WAS CLEARED FOR VISUAL APPROACH AND REPORTED FINAL, ALL FURTHER CONTACT WAS LOST, THE ACFT CRASHED AND WAS DESTROYED, THE 2 POB SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES, OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN. (-23)ON MAY 19, 1999, AT APPROXIMATELY 1725 MDT, A PIPER PA-23-250, N54263. CRASHED 1 MILE NE OF THE TUCUMCARI MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, TUCUMCARI, NM (TCC).  BOTH OCCUPANTS WERE FATALLY INJURED.  VISUAL METEROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED.  THE AIRCRAFT HAD RETURNED TO TCC AFTER EXPERIENCING AN ENGINE PROBLEM.  THE PILOT FAILED TO LOWER THE LANDING GEAR UPON RETURN TO TCC AND ATTEMPTED A GO AROUND.  FILE CLOSED.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      (.4) APPROXIMATELY 5 MINUTES AFTER TAKING OFF, THE PILOT TOLD AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL THAT HIS 'LEFT ENGINE WAS SMOKING BADLY,' THAT HE HAD FEATHERED THE PROPELLER, AND WAS RETURNING TO LAND. AS THE AIRPLANE MADE ITS APPROACH, THE PILOT WAS ADVISED THAT HIS LANDING GEAR WAS STILL RETRACTED.  HE SAID HE WOULD MAKE A GO-AROUND.  WITNESSES COULD NOT RECALL IF AN ENGINE HAD BEEN SHUT DOWN, BUT THEY DID SAY THAT THERE WAS NO SMOKE COMING FROM EITHER ENGINE.  THEY WATCHED THE AIRPLANE BANK LEFT ON BASE LEG AND DESCEND INTO THE GROUND.  EXAMINATION OF THE PROPELLER GOVERNORS DISCLOSED THE RIGHT (NOT THE LEFT) PROPELLER HAD BEEN FEATHERED.  DISASSEMBLY AND EXAMINATION OF BOTH ENGINES DISCLOSED NO MECHANICAL DISCREPANCIES OR FAILURES.

## 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 DEN99FA081](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN99FA081), May 19, 1999: Piper PA-23E-250 (N54263), Tucumcari, NM, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's inadvertent stall. A factor was the loss of power of one engine in the twin-engine 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.

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