- Date
- April 11, 1988, 15:23 local (20:23 UTC)
- Place
- Bowling Green, KY
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N32911Piper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 21, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880411009829A
- Case key
- 7597
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
Pilot called fss on wrong freq. Another pilot answered & pilot req fss freq. He then called fss, rpted eng quit. Witness heard 'eng starting' momentarily overhead, watched acft pitch over, dive to gnd & impact with no attempt to flare for lnding. Pitch trim was fully nose down, there was evidence of propeller rotation under power at impact, & no reason found to prevent eng running. PIC background check showed treatment for depression, continuous use of valium to sleep since 1979, nervous breakdown of father, fear of nervous breakdown himself, severe shortages in govt grain in his warehouse, & 1 million dollar insurance to warehouse. When govt auditor arrived unexpectedly, PIC left warehouse, rented acft, took off hurriedly, & subsequently crashed. Witnesses reported pilot did not preflt, did not accomplish a run-up, and taxiied at high speed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N32911
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 287505102
- Airframe hours
- 4,100
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Williams Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 22, 1988 · 107 hours before
- Departed
- M91 · Springfield, TN
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 500 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 18 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BWG, 4 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.