- Date
- November 11, 1985, 23:50 local (Nov 12, 1985, 04:50 UTC)
- Place
- Coatesville, PA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N54136Piper PA-23-250
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19851111062809A
- Case key
- 11196
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
There was no wx rprtg stn at Coatesville, but aprx 25 mi ese at philadelphia, the forecast was for ocnl ceilings of 600'OVERCAST, vis 3 mi with lgt rain showers & fog. There were flt prctns for turbc blo 5000' due to wnd shear, ceilings & vis freq blo 1000' & 3 mi with stratus, lgt drizzle & fog. Drg arrival, the acft was vectored for a VOR rwy 29 apch (ilswas out of svc). On his 1st attempt, the plt made a missed apch. He got vectors to fly the apch again & said he would proceed to philadelphia, if a lndg could not be completed. On the 2nd apch, the acft dscndd blo radar coverage at 1800' MSL, aprx 3 mi ese of the arpt. Subsequently, it crashed aprx 1 mi nne of the rwy threshold, while in a steep nose dwn attitude. The main wreckage came to rest 44' nne of the principal impact point. No preimpact mechanical problems were found. The stabilator trim was noted in the full nose dwn position; but the sys's integrity was not maintained drg the acdnt. Wx study indcd cld bases were at 900' MSL. Min dscnt alt (mda) for the apch was 1060' MSL; arpt elev was 662'.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N54136
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 277405444
- Airframe hours
- 3,457
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-C4B5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Chester County Aviation, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 21, 1985 · 61 hours before
- Departed
- ELM · Elmira, NY
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- 40N · Chester County, runway 29, 4,600 × 100 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 24
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- 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
- 2,200 total · 150 in this make and model · 1,990 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 80° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ILG, 22 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.