- Date
- October 4, 1991, 22:22 local (Oct 5, 1991, 02:22 UTC)
- Place
- Chesapeake Bay, MD
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Unknown
- Aircraft
- N55657Piper PA-28-140
- Weather
- Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report July 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911004053479A
- Case key
- 11711
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
Undetermined. The aircraft wreckage has not been located.
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 was on a three leg student cross-country flight. She landed at her first destination and had her log book signed by an employee of a fixed-base operator. The student departed on the second leg of her trip and contacted dover approach control for radar advisories. After a brief radio conversation, radio and radar service was terminated. That was the last known contact with the pilot. Her body was discovered in Chesapeake Bay more than one month later. The airplane has not been found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N55657
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-732-5454
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E3D, 140 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Annapolis Flying Service
- Registered owner
- Annapolis Flying Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 16, 1991 · 70 hours before
- Departed
- N92 · Summit, DE
- Destination
- ESN · Easton, 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
- 30
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 60 total · 60 in this make and model · 60 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Night/dark
- Wind
- 130° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DOV, 999 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.