- Date
- November 14, 1989, 05:55 local (10:55 UTC)
- Place
- Morrisville, NC
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N4945FPiper PA-32R-300
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 26, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891114045249A
- Case key
- 8180
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
Loss of engine power for an unknown reason. The dark night and instrument conditions contributed to the accident.
Analysis
The flight had intercepted the glide slope, with the landing gear and flaps extended, when the engine quit. The pilot established an 85 knot emergency glide on the localizer course. Attempts to start the engine failed. The airplane collided with trees, fell to the ground and burned. The pilot managed to escape the burning airplane with minor injuries. The wreckage examination failed to disclose any mechanical failure or malfunction. The pilot did not report moving the fuel mixture lever to the rich position. Normal and emergency procedures instruct the pilot to return the mixture lever to the rich position.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4945F
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32R-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32R-7680491
- Airframe hours
- 6,081
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1G5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Julia W. Taylor
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 5, 1989 · 25 hours before
- Departed
- CLT · Charlotte, NC
- Destination
- RDU · Raliegh, NC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- RDU · Raleigh-Durham, runway 23R, 10,000 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,800 total · 110 in this make and model · 1,300 as pilot in command · 330 in the last 90 days · 116 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 230° at 4 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- 100 ft
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RDU, 3 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.