- Date
- March 27, 1987, 11:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Frankfort, IL
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N452BHPiper PA-32-300
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 6, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870327007579A
- Case key
- 13636
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
Aircraft control was lost as the pilot attempted to descend to his assigned altitude of 5000 feet from excessive climb. He was in IFR conditions at the time. The airframe broke apart, empennage first, during the uncontrolled descent to the ground due to high speed structural overload. The pilot had just received his instrument rating and had approx two tenths of an hour of unsupervised instrument time all of which was accomplished on this last flight. A witness saw the acft fall out of the bottom of the overcast. The plt thought his assigned altitude was 6000 feet and had to be advised of traffic at 6000 feet by ATC. The plt radioed that he filed for 6000 ft but would go to five. This was the last radio contact before the radar contact went to coast mode.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N452BH
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7440068
- Airframe hours
- 2,120
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1A5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James S. Clark
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 1, 1986 · 114 hours before
- Departed
- MDW · Chicago, IL
- Destination
- IKK · Kankakee, IL
- Flight plan
- IFR
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 810 total · 104 in this make and model · 517 as pilot in command · 54 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,700 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MDW, 20 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.