- Date
- March 1, 1991, 17:40 local (22:40 UTC)
- Place
- Suches, GA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6546YPiper PA-23-250
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910301062639A
- Case key
- 8381
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 pilot's failure to maintain altitude during cruise flight after loss of electrical power for an undetermined reason.
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
The private pilot was in IMC at 7,000 feet MSL and about 30 minutes into his flight when he reported a complete electrical failure. He began to accomplish lost comm procedures and attempted to maintain his last assigned heading, airspeed, and altitude. He reported no problems with his engines, pitot static system or vacuum powered flight instruments. He remembered the airplane striking tree limbs, but could remember nothing after that until the airplane had crashed onto the terrain. The elevation at the crash site was about 3,100 feet MSL. The pilot could not explain why he lost 3,900 feet of altitude prior to the crash. He did not report a lightning strike, and he was in IMC until impact. The reason for the loss off electrical power was not determined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6546Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 27-3840
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-C4B5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Krug, Kurt E.
- Registered owner
- Krug, Richard D.
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 15, 1991
- Departed
- CHA · Chattanooga, TN
- Destination
- VNC · Venice, FL
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,087 total · 376 in this make and model · 985 as pilot in command · 41 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,400 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CHA, 61 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.