- Date
- April 16, 1988, 14:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Barnwell, SC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4233EPiper PA-38-112
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 9, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880416011629A
- Case key
- 7739
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 initial climb after takeoff right side of the engine cowling unfastened and began fluttering violently. The instructor assumed control of acft & made a forced landing straight ahead into a cultivated field. The acft nosed up sustaining substantial damage during the landing roll. An FAA inspector at the airport witnessed the accident & examined the acft after the accident. He rpted that the dzeus fasteners in the right side of the top portion of the cowl were absent. The reason for the loss of the fasteners was not determined. A maintenance inspection was performed 20 minutes prior to the flt. The takeoff was begun at a rwy intersection leaving about 2500 ft of a 5,118 ft rwy for the takeoff.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4233E
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 3878A0498
- Airframe hours
- 4,037
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Crystal Aviation, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Harold N. Starling, Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 6, 1988 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- BNL
- Destination
- 99N
- Airport
- BNL · Barnwell, runway 34, 5,118 × 100 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
- 29
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 402 total · 37 in this make and model · 274 as pilot in command · 119 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.