- Date
- July 15, 1987, 17:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Elberton, GA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5502FPiper PA-28
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 25, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870715038479A
- Case key
- 7309
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
The plt noted a progressive loss of pwr that began drg the climb to cruise. He diverted back toward the dep arpt & atmtdto restore pwr by activating the boost pump, moving the mixture to full rich, switching fuel tanks & applying carb heat. However, the eng contd to lose pwr. As he maneuvered the acft onto a short final apch, the eng lost all pwr & the acft crash lndd short of the rwy in a swamp. A post-crash exam of the eng revealed no evidence of mechanical failure. Svrl ounces of water & sediment were fnd in the carb bowl; however, drg the crash &/or recovery of the acft, the fuel lines broke & the eng became nearly completely submerged in water. Svrl spark plugs were slightly fouled with black, sooty carbon deposits. The acft was stc'd to oper on auto-fuel & was svcd with 89 octane regular fuel. The carb was equipped with a composite float, which had evidence of minor deterioration; however, drg a flow check, the carb functioned properly.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5502F
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-24840
- Airframe hours
- 2,301
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Muriel D. Comolli
- Registered owner
- Muriel D Comolli
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 13, 1987 · 37 hours before
- Destination
- DNL · Augusta, GA
- Airport
- 27A · Elbert County-Patz Fld, runway 10, 3,400 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 100 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AHN, 27 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.