- Date
- February 7, 1991, 06:40 local (11:40 UTC)
- Place
- Liberty, NC
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N6247YPiper PA-23-250
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report November 24, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910207001689A
- Case key
- 8311
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain a positive rate-of-climb after lift-off. Factors related to the accident were: darkness, low ceiling, fog, and the pilot's limited experience in a Piper PA-23.
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
Immediately after a night takeoff in foggy conditions, the airplane impacted trees 1560 ft from the departure end of the runway. Witnesses reported the engines sounded normal & 'in sync.' The landing gear was retracted. The visibility was estimated to be 1/2 mi with patchy ground fog. The pilot's logbook showed 3 flights in a Piper PA-23 during 1990 for a total time of 5.5 hrs, the last of which was in June of 1990. However, the pilot received a 1-HR familiarization flight in the airplane 3 days before the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6247Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 27-3484
- Airframe hours
- 5,712
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-C4B5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Shamrock Gravure Products, Inc
- Registered owner
- Shamrock Gravure Products, Inc
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 19, 1990 · 165 hours before
- Destination
- GSO · Greensboro, NC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- 2A5 · Causey, runway 2, 3,005 × 40 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
- 32
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,482 total · 7 in this make and model · 2,395 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 42 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 220° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 800 ft broken
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GS0, 19 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.