- Date
- October 28, 1988, 20:40 local (Oct 29, 1988, 00:40 UTC)
- Place
- Ocean City, MD
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N666RWPiper PA-34-200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881028048539A
- Case key
- 11449
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 adequate clearance above the terrain. Contributing factors are inattention to altitude and dark night conditions over illusionary producing featureless water.
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
Witnesses saw the acft flying about 2 miles north of the destination airport (ocy) headed east at an altitude of about 600 ft AGL. The acft crossed the shoreline and went over water. The acft was about one-half mile offshore when it turned south. According to witnesses, the acft began descending when it turned. The descent continued until it crashed into the water, about a mile northeast of ocy. Witnesses reported hearing engine sounds the entire time. Witnesses also reported dark night conditions existed over water. Examination of the acft revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunction. The plt was denied an FAA medical certificate in August, 1986 because of cardiovascular deficiences. The plt's body was not recovered.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N666RW
- Reported as
- Piper PA-34-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34-7350064
- Airframe hours
- 1,440
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-C1E6, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Roy Williams
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 6, 1987 · 35 hours before
- Departed
- MD31 · Forest Hill, MD
- Destination
- N80 · Ocean City, MD
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
- 56
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Flight hours
- 2,700 total · 1,850 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SBY, 23 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.