# Accident 20080621843939A: Piper PA28140, Owls Head, ME, June 21, 2008

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 21, 2008, 10:42 local time
- Place: Owls Head, ME
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.0611° N, 68.0789° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.0611&lon=-68.0789&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8776N, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8776N-2013-07-15) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-140 (registry code 7102802, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-140) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28140
- Reported engine: LYC O320*
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 247 total, 227 in this make and model, 1 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC08LA223](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC08LA223) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080621843939A

## Narrative

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

(-23) AT APPROXIMATELY 1042 EDT ON JUNE 21, 2008 ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ (PILOT) DEPARTED KNOW COUNTY AIRPORT (RKD) IN A PA-28-140 (N8776N).  THE PILOT HAD WAITED OVER ONE HOUR FOR THE WEATHER TO CLEAR SO SHE COULD DO SOME TRAFFIC PATTERN WORK AND TOUCH-N-GO PRACTICE.  SHE DEPARTED RUNWAY 13 AND DISAPPEARED INTO A COSTAL FOG BANK AT APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET UNDER NORMAL CLIMB POWER.  SEVERAL PEOPLE WITNESSED SEEING HER DISAPPEAR INTO THE FOG BANK AND HEARD THE ENGINE SOUND INCREASE AND THE SOUND OF AN IMPACT.  THEY NOTIFIED 911 AND WENT TO LOOK FOR THE AIRCRAFT.  THEY FOUND THE WRECKAGE IN ABOUT ONE FOOT OF TIDAL FLAT WATER, THE TIDE WAS COMING IN.  THE PILOT WAS REMOVED FROM THE WRECKAGE PRIOR TO IT BECOMING SUBMERGED.  THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE WAS PHOTOGRAPHED AND REMOVED BY A LOCAL SALVAGE COMPANY AND SECURED AT RKD AIRPORT.  THIS WAS COMPLETED THE EVENING OF JUN 22, 2008.  THE INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT/ENGINE/PROPELLER FOUND NO OBVIOUS MECHANICAL PROBLEMS.  FUEL SAMPLES FROM THE AIRCRAFT AND STORAGE TANK SHOWED NO CONTAINMENTS.  THE PILOT HAD FLOWN ONE HOUR SINCE OCTOBER 21, 2007 AND THAT WAS THE KNOX COUNTY FLYING CLUB INSURANCE CHECKOUT ON JUN 19, 2008.

## 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 NYC08LA223](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC08LA223), Jun 21, 2008: Piper PA-28-140 (N8776N), Rockland, ME, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The non-instrument rated pilot becoming spatially disorientated after inadvertently entering instrument flight 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.

---
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.