# Accident 20111216028879A: Piper PA-38-112, Merry Hill, NC, December 16, 2011 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 16, 2011, 11:00 local time - Place: Merry Hill, NC - Airport: Airport Name - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 36.0228° N, 76.8042° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.0228&lon=-76.8042&mi=10 - Aircraft: N9279T, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9279T-2013-05-14) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-38-112 (registry code 7103812, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-38-112) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-235 series (registry code 41505, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-38-112 - Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-235 SERIES - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Other injuries: 1 - Pilot certificates: Student - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA12LA112](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12LA112) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20111216028879A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ DEPARTED PLYMOUTH AIRPORT (PMZ), PLYMOUTH, NORTH CAROLINA ON THE MORNING OF DECEMBER 16, 2011. SOME TIME LATER, HIS AIRCRAFT CRASHED LANDED IN A FIELD ADJACENT TO HIS HOME NEAR MERRY HILL, NORTH CAROLINA . THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE CRASH WAS ENGINE FAILURE DUE TO FUEL STARVATION.ON DECEMBER 16, 2011, ACCORDING TO SOME EYE WITNESS STATEMENTS', AN AIRCRAFT WAS APPROACHING A FIELD AT MERRY HILL NORTH CAROLINA. ONE WITNESS STATED THE AIRCRAFT ENGINE HAD QUIT RUNNING, THE PROPELLER OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOT MOVING AND THE PLANE WAS TRYING TO LAND IN THE FIELD. ANOTHER WITNESS SAID THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESCENDING VERY FAST AND TRYING TO LAND IN THE OPEN FIELD (THE OPEN FIELD WAS ADJACENT TO THE PILOT'S HOUSE).THE FAA FSDO EA-39 WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ACCIDENT AROUND 2:00 PM ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT. PERSONNEL FROM THE OFFICE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO REACH THE ACCIDENT SITE UNTIL AFTER DARK SO IT WAS DECIDED TO ARRIVE AT THE ACCIDENT SITE THE NEXT DAY, SATURDAY DECEMBER 17, 2011. INVESTIGATION OF THE ACCIDENT SIGHT REVEALED THE AIRCRAFT HIT NOSE FIRST AT A HIGH RATE OF DESCENT WITH THE ENGINE ABSORBING THE MAJORITY OF THE IMPACT. GROUND MARKINGS AND THE DAMAGED AIRCRAFT ENGINE INDICATE THAT THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE GROUND AT AN APPROXIMATE 45 DEGREE ANGLE. THE NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT AND BOTH WINGS LEFT AN INDENTATION IN THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND ONCE, BOUNCED, FLIPPED OVER AND LANDED IN AN INVERTED POSITION 20 FEET FROM THE FIRST IMPACT.THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT WAS FUEL STARVATION. THE FUEL TANK SELECTOR VALVE WAS IN THE LEFT POSITION. THE LEFT FUEL TANK DID NOT CONTAIN ANY FUEL. THE RIGHT TANK DID NOT CONTAIN ANY FUEL IN IT EITHER. HOWEVER THE RIGHT TANK COULD HAVE HAD SOME AMOUNT OF FUEL IN IT PRIOR TO THE CRASH THAT LEAKED OUT OF THE TANK AFTER BEING IN THE INVERTED POSITION. THIS IS SPECULATION DUE TO THE FACT THAT THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF DAMAGE TO THE WEEDS AND GRASS UNDER THE RIGHT WING DUE TO SOME TYPE OF CHEMICAL REACTION PRESUMABLY CAUSED BY FUEL. THERE WAS NOT ANY DAMAGE TO THE WEEDS AND GRASS UNDER THE LEFT WING.THE AIRCRAFT WAS APPARENTLY SET UP FOR A LANDING. THE AIRCRAFT'S ELECTRIC FUEL PUMP WAS IN THE "ON" POSITION, THE MIXTURE CONTROL KNOB WAS IN THE FULL RICH POSITION, THE CARBURETOR HEAT KNOB WAS IN THE "ON" POSITION AND THE AIRCRAFT FLAPS WERE IN THE FULL DOWN POSITION. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WAS TRANSPORTED BY AIR TO THE PITT-GREENVILLE HOSPITAL WHERE HE REMAINS IN VERY CRITICAL CONDITION. ACCORDING TO HOSPITAL STAFF, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ "WILL NOT BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE FOR WEEKS POSSIBLY MONTHS"ON DECEMBER 29, 2011 AN INTERVIEW WITH MR. KNAPP BRABBLE, MANAGER OF PLYMOUTH'S AIRPORT WAS CONDUCTED. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AIRCRAFT WAS BASED IN PLYMOUTH. MR. BRABBLE WAS TOLD BY ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THAT HE HAD PERSONALLY REPLACED BOTH FUEL TANK SUMP DRAINS. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ ALSO STATED THAT HE WAS GOING TO SELL THE AIRCRAFT AND DURING THE SALE MOVE THE AIRCRAFT TO A LANDING STRIP NEAR HIS HOUSE.ACCORDING TO STATEMENTS MADE BY PERSONS TO MR. BRABBLE CONCERNING ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ HEALTH, HE HAD BROKEN BOTH FEET, LEGS, ARMS AND HAS VERY SERIOUS INTERNAL INJURIES. THESE STATEMENTS ALSO INCLUDED THE COMMENT THAT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ IS IN A MEDICALLY INDUCED COMA AND MAY NOT SURVIVE. ## 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 ERA12LA112](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12LA112), Dec 16, 2011: Piper PA-38-112 (N9279T), Merry Hill, NC, substantial damage. Probable cause: Operation of the airplane by a non-certificated pilot. Contributing to the accident was the non-certificated pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed while making a forced landing following a total loss… 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.