ATL83FA186

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA-18 · Ft. Pickett, VA · August 21, 1982

Accident · FatalField investigationFinal report
Date
August 20, 1982, 21:27 local (Aug 21, 1982, 01:27 UTC)
Place
Ft. Pickett, VA
Injuries
1 fatal
Damage
Destroyed
Phase of flight
Unknown
Aircraft
N90910Piper PA-18
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
Status
Completed · report August 20, 1983
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19820820069939A
Case key
70787

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

On this page

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

Loss of control - in flightUnknown
Light condition - dark nightFactor
Became lost/disoriented - inadvertentPilot in commandCause
Visual/aural perceptionPilot in commandCause
In-flight planning/decision - improperPilot in commandCause
Low pass - performedPilot in commandFactor
Spiral - not correctedPilot in commandCause
In flight collision with terrain/waterUnknown

Analysis

The acft collided with the ground at ft Pickett shortly after a similiar acft was seen trying to approach blackstone army airfield. This acft made a go-around and disappeared to the south. The wrecked acft was found 3.5 miles south of the arpt 8 months later. The aircraft had hit left wing first and bounced about 80 ft to a final resting place with the right wing folded over the left. The flammable parts of the wreckage were consumed in a post accident fire. The only cockpit instrument readable was the VSI which showed more than 2000 ft/minute descent. This acft was from manassas and had landed at chesterfield for fuel. Its destination was fredericksburg which is about 55 miles north of chesterfield. After departure at 1935 hours EDT it disappeared, and was next observed at blackstone, 25 NM sw of chesterfield, at 2110HOURS. Examination of the wreckage and the pilots remains did not disclose any abnormalities which would have been causal in nature.

Aircraft

Registration
N90910
Reported as
Piper PA-18
Category
Airplane
Serial number
18-8109046
Engine
Lycoming O-320-A2B, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Destroyed
Fire
On-Ground
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
C. Martin Jr.
Registered owner
C. Martin Jr.
Departed
Chesterfield, VA
Destination
Fredericksburg, VA
Airport
runway 36

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
69
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, Invalid Medical for flight
Flight hours
1,764 total · 38 in this make and model · 11 in the last 90 days

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
Visibility
5 statute miles

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.