- Date
- June 6, 1982, 11:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Vandalia, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7254YPiper PA-30
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 6, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820606028879A
- Case key
- 72917
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
During descent at 215 mph the acft entered violent buffeting. Recovery was initiated by reducing power & the acft landed without any further incident. Examination revealed the horizontal stabilator was permanently bent downward on both sides. The acft was modified with gap seals on 5/25/82 iaw STC SA516GL. Examination of the counterbalance arm assembly showed that two small weights (slugs) were used to obtain a balanced condition when the STC modification was completed on the stabilator. The STC contained a limitation that it should not be incorporated in any acft having other approved modifications unless it has been determined that it will not introduce any adverse effect upon acft airworthiness. This acft had 8 other modifications. On 7/10/82 the owner of the STC issued a service bulletin which effectively removed the gap seals on all PA-30 & PA-39 type. Acft that had previously been modified.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7254Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-30
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30-280
- Airframe hours
- 3,150
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-C2C, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Michael I. Massimini
- Registered owner
- Michael I. Massimini
- Departed
- Vandalia, OH
- Destination
- Vandalia, OH
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
- 26
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 3,304 total · 650 in this make and model · 3,314 as pilot in command · 153 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Temperature
- 117 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.