- Date
- August 17, 1986, 18:52 local (22:52 UTC)
- Place
- Bowleys Qrtrs, MD
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N31ABPiper PA-30
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 14, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860817040229A
- Case key
- 11213
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
Drg arr, TRACON gave the plt the arpt wx & provided vectors for an ILS rwy 32 apch. The plt inquired about a cell that he understood was over the arpt & was advised to standby while the controller (ctlr) checked on it. The ctlr contacted twr psnl who adzd the vis was 1 mi in hvy rain, but the plt was given a freq chg bfr the info was passed on to him. How-ever, the final ctlr adzd him of the cell which was ovr the NDB. The NDB was 1.6 mi fm rwy 32, along the ILS course. Theplt elected to cont the apch & was clrd to twr freq. As the acft apchd the NDB, radar showed it was off course. The twr ctlr tried to give the plt climb-out instrns, but the plt declined them & said he was having trouble ctlg the acft. The plt's last transmission was to acknowledge he would turn 180 deg to abandon the apch. Witnesses saw the acft come out of clouds in a steep dive & crash about 1 mi fm the arpt in 10' to 15' of water bfr recovering. No preimpact mechanical problems were fnd. A wx study showed cloud bases at 700' & wx echos of at least mod intensity (vip lvl 2).
Aircraft
- Registration
- N31AB
- Reported as
- Piper PA-30
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30-743
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-320-B1A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Arthur Benjamin
- Registered owner
- Adb Engineers, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 9, 1986 · 45 hours before
- Departed
- AVL · Asheville, NC
- Destination
- MTN · Baltimore, MD
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- MTN · Glenn L. Martin State, runway 32, 8,100 × 180 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
- 60
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,151 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BWI, 16 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.