- Date
- June 18, 1987, 21:05 local (Jun 19, 1987, 01:05 UTC)
- Place
- Asheville, NC
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N900AJPiper PA-28R-200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870618020819A
- Case key
- 7303
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.
Analysis
During a personal night x-country VFR flight over mountainous terrain the plt was informed by ATC that vip level 3 and 4 thunderstorms were positioned across the intended flt path. The 128 hour non-instrument rated private plt acknowledged and continued the flt. Soon afterwards radio and radar contact were lost. The acft experienced an in-flight breakup. All structural failures had overstress signatures typical of overload. There was no evidence of pre-breakup mechanical malfunction or failure. A meteorological summary of the accd site indicated that the leading edge of a wx echo of at least mod intensity containing at least a mod rain shower was located in the vicinity of the accd site.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N900AJ
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-35369
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-C1C, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Albert H. Shuster III
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- MEI · Meridian, MS
- Destination
- GSO · Greensboro, NC
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
- 34
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 128 total · 57 in this make and model · 5 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 40° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AVL, 5 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.