- Date
- June 25, 1985, 20:15 local (Jun 26, 1985, 01:15 UTC)
- Place
- Reedsburg, WI
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N32461Piper PA-28-151
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850625027859A
- Case key
- 12848
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
No known witnesses observed the plt preflt the acft or takeoff. He departed in the evening while the arpt was not attended. At aprx 2012 CDT, his son observed & recognized the acft. At that time, the son was at his own home about 1/2 mi from the plt's home. The son saw the acft overfly his father's home at low alt. Subsequently, he saw the acft go over a tree covered ridge between the plt's house & the acdnt site. The son stated that the acft struck trees on the backside of the ridge & disappeared from his view. After hitting the trees, the acft impacted in an open field & came to rest about 185 ft from the initial impact with the trees. Eventually, the acft began burning. Cleanly cut tree limbs (prop cuts) were fnd where the acft struck the trees. No preimpact part failure or malfunction was fnd. A check of the plt's blood showed an alcohol level of 0.239%.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N32461
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-151
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7515161
- Airframe hours
- 1,614
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E3D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Reedsburg Flying Club, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 6, 1984 · 90 hours before
- Departed
- C35 · Reedsburg, WI
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
- 50
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 460 total · 400 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 180° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.