- Date
- October 24, 1987, 07:31 local (11:31 UTC)
- Place
- Louisville, KY
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N6542RBeech B24R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report January 11, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871024060409A
- Case key
- 7562
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
Drg tkof fm rwy 19, the plt transmitted 'we have a door open.' Twr psnl clrd him to lnd on any rwy, but he stated againthat a door was open. Again, twr psnl clrd him to lnd on any rwy. No otr radio calls were recd fm the acft. Svrl personssaw the acft at low alt bfr it entered a steep turn twd rwy 24. Subsequently, the acft hit a treetop, crashed with the flaps retracted & came to rest aprx 300 yds fm the the rwy threshold. There was evidence that the utility & left cabin doors were closed drg impact. However, the rgt cabin door was fnd wedged under the rgt wing with little deformation. No preimpact part failure or malfunction was fnd drg the investigation. Tests showed the flt characteristics of the acft were unchgd with an open door; however, the flt manual recommended using shallow bank turns, cautioned about possible buffeting & a slight increase in drag, & warned not to allow the airspeed to drop below the recommended speed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6542R
- Reported as
- Beech B24R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- MC281
- Airframe hours
- 2,785
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B6, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Paul Pullen
- Registered owner
- Rdg Financial Corporation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 25, 1987 · 28 hours before
- Departed
- BOW
- Destination
- AHN · Athens, GA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- LOU · Bowman Field, runway 24, 4,312 × 80 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
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 152 total · 67 in this make and model · 98 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 170° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LOU, 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.
Other investigations on N6542R · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.