- Date
- July 13, 1985, 19:15 local (23:15 UTC)
- Place
- Middletown, DE
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N8577PPiper PA-24-260
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850713031099A
- Case key
- 11184
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
Following takeoff, at about 350 feet AGL, the engine quit abruptly. The plt attempted to land in a field which was located about 15 degrees east of the acft's heading. While attempting to avoid pwr lines near the field, the right wing collided with the wires. After contact with the wires, witness concur that the plt was able to raise the nose of the acft, before the right wing struck the ground, followed by the bottom nose section cowling, near the nose wheel. At this point, the aircraft had pivoted almost 180 degrees, and bounced backward through the air approximately 60 feet before coming to rest.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8577P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-260
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-4034
- Airframe hours
- 4,297
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-E4A5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Baptist Bible Church, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 26, 1985 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- N92 · Middletown, DE
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
- 51
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,477 total · 106 in this make and model · 1,413 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ILG, 12 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.