- Date
- September 25, 1992, 20:15 local (Sep 26, 1992, 00:15 UTC)
- Place
- Bethel, ME
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N5867WPiper PA-28-160
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report May 26, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920925038999A
- Case key
- 11857
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's failure to maintain adequate altitude to avoid the terrain. The dark night was a factor.
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 airplane crashed at night about 2 mi east of the destination airport. The accident site is mountainous, and the elevation is about 600 ft above the airport. The airport is unattended; the one runway is not lighted. According to the survivng passenger, she was told that they would be landing shortly, and soon afterwards she heard the sounds of the airplane striking trees.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5867W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-160
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-2439
- Airframe hours
- 4,953
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Leroy W. Gray
- Registered owner
- Leroy W. Gray
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- BHB · Bar Harbor, ME
- Airport
- 0B1 · Colonel Dyke Field
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 500 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BGR, 95 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.