- Date
- March 25, 1988, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fancy Gap, VA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1598VRyan Navion NA-4
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880325009809A
- Case key
- 11362
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 failed to maintain visual contact and clearance with rising terrain after VFR flight encountered IMC.
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 non-instrument rated plt was on a trip that originated in thasting, MI. This flight was the second leg of the trip after an overnight stop at gallipolis, OH. There was no record that the plt received a wx briefing before he departed VFR from gallipolis at an undetermined time. The acft went about 130 miles when witnesses saw the acft flying south at low altitude over a highway in mountainous terrain. Witnesses said there was a low ceiling, fog and low visibility. A witness said the ceiling was about 300 ft and the visibility was less than a mile. Soon afterwards the acft reversed course and collided with rising terrain at an elevation of about 3200 ft MSL. Examination of the acft did not reveal evidence of mechanical malfunction. The autopsy did not reveal evidence of plt incapacitation or impairment.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1598V
- Reported as
- Ryan Navion NA-4 (NAVION NA-)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- NAV-4-1794
- Engine
- Continental E-185-9, 205 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Michael K Newell
- Registered owner
- Unregistered
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- GAS · Gallipolis, OH
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
- 29
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 400 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 300 ft overcast
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.