- Date
- March 7, 1991, 08:15 local (13:15 UTC)
- Place
- Hagerstown, MD
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6699PPiper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 24, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910307004409A
- Case key
- 11661
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 failure of the throttle control cable. A factor ws the rough terrain.
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 pilot reported that the throttle cable fractured and the engine power reduced to idle. He was flying in the traffic pattern at the time, and he was unable to glide to the runway. The acft crashed about 100 feet short of the runway. The metallurgical examination revealed the fracture surfaces of the strand showed evidence of cut marks.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6699P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-18-25
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Rick W. Crow
- Registered owner
- Rick W. Crow
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 16, 1990 · 0 hours before
- Departed
- W35 · Berkeley Spring, WV
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
- 32
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 330 total · 110 in this make and model · 278 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,100 ft broken
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HGR, 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.