# Accident 19991208044719A: Piper PA32RT300T, Pelham, AL, December 8, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 8, 1999, 17:17 local time
- Place: Pelham, AL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.3007° N, 86.7899° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.3007&lon=-86.7899&mi=10
- Aircraft: N39696, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N39696-2017-07-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32RT-300T (registry code 7103216, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32rt-300t) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA32RT300T
- Reported engine: LYC TIO540S1AD
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 300 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA00FA043](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00FA043) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19991208044719A

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT RECEIVED WEATHER BRIEF THE MORNING OF ACCIDENT BUT FAILED TO CALL BACK FOR UPDATES TO BRIEFING. PILOT ASK FOR WEATHER FROM BIRMINGHAM, AL. TO CHATTANOOGA,TN. PILOT DEPARTED BESSEMER AIRPORT (EKY) PRIOR TO ACCIDENT AND FLEW A/C INTO TREES ON TOP OF MOUNTAIN RIDGE WHICH WAS REPORTED TO BE IN THE LOW CLOUD LAYER. STUDENT PILOT CROSS COUNTRY ENDORSEMENT HAD EXPIRED(.4) ON DECEMBER 8, 1999, ABOUT 1717 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-32RT-300T, N39696, REGISTERED TO A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL, OPERATING AS A TITLE 14 PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT, CRASHED WHILE MANEUVERING NEAR PELHAM, ALABAMA. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED AND THE STUDENT PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED BESSEMER AIRPORT, BESSEMER, ALABAMA, AT AN UNKNOWN TIME.                                                           ACCORDING TO AN EYEWITNESS, AN FAA LICENSED PILOT, AT BETWEEN 1715 AND 1720HE HEARD THE AIRPLANE FLY OVERHEAD HIS RESIDENCE AT A "MUCH TOO LOW" ALTITUDE AND AT AN "OVER REVVED" POWER SETTING ON AN EASTERLY HEADING IN A                                                                             THE AIRPLANE FLY OVERHEAD HIS RESIDENCE AT A "MUCH TOO LOW" ATTITUDE AND AT AN "OVER REVVED" POWER SETTING ON AN EASTERLY HEADING IN A DESCENT. AS HE RAN ONTO HIS BACK PORCH, HE NOTED THE WEATHER HAD DETERIORATED WITH FOG AND DRIZZLE, AND THE RIDGE LINE EAST OF HIS HOUSE WAS BECOMING OBSCURED. HE AND HIS WIFE HEARD AN IMPACT, AND SAW THE GLOW OF A FIRE NEAR THE RIDGE LINE.HE IMMEDIATELY CALLED 911. HE STATED HE HEARD NO SOUNDS OF ENGINE INSTABILITY OR MALFUNCTION. OTHER WITNESS STATEMENTS RECOUNTED THAT THE ENGINE SOUNDS WERE OF A SMOOTLY RUNNING ENGINE. SEE WITNESS REPORTS, ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REPORT.

## 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 MIA00FA043](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00FA043), Dec 8, 1999: Piper PA-32RT-300T (N39696), Pelham, AL, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The student pilot's decision to continue the visual flight rules flight into deteriorating visibility, and his failure to maintain altitude clearance with the terrain.

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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