- Date
- July 19, 1990, 17:23 local (21:23 UTC)
- Place
- Baltimore, MD
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N32975Piper PA-28-200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 6, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900719027499A
- Case key
- 11552
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 airspeed which resulted in a stall. Contributing was the loss of power for undetermined reasons.
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 flight was inbound to mtn when electrical power occurred and communication with ATC was lost. The pilot proceeded to mtn, entered the traffic pattern, to land on runway 14. According to the pilot, the engine lost power while he was on base leg and the airplane crashed less than a mile from the runway. A pax said the pilot turned left to avoid another just before the engine lost power. He said during the turn the airplane shaked. ATC personnel at mtn said they first noticed the airplane when it was on base leg, but another airplane had been cleared to land, whose pilot was then instructed to break off the approach. ATC then saw the accident airplane go through the final approach course, turn left, and descend to the ground. The examination of the airplane revealed the alternator belt failed, although it was not determined if the failure occurred pre or post impact. The alternator was damaged and was not tested. The alternator warning circuitry for the annunciator panel was found defective, which disabled the warning. Mechanical examination of the airframe and engine did not disclose evidence of mechanical malfunction.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N32975
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7535102
- Airframe hours
- 1,956
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-C1C, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ronald Marien
- Registered owner
- Ronald Marien
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 11, 1990 · 33 hours before
- Departed
- GDM · Gardner, MA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- MTN · Martin State, runway 14, 6,996 × 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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,078 total · 1,022 in this make and model · 1,004 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MTN, 1 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.