- Date
- March 24, 1988, 22:22 local (Mar 25, 1988, 03:22 UTC)
- Place
- Alma, MI
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N54848Piper PA-23-250
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report November 28, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880324008729A
- Case key
- 13936
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
Drg arrival, the plt was provided vectors for an sdf rwy 9 apch. No wx rprt was available for the destn (Alma), but the plt was adzd the saginaw wx was: indefinite ceiling, 200' obscured, vis 1/2 mi with fog, temp 41, dew point 31, wind 100 deg at 8 KTS, altimeter 29.90. The plt rprtd that after he was clrd for the apch, he dscndd to the min dscnt alt (mda) of 1300' MSL by using the auto-plt. He stated that about 1 min past the final apch fix, he heard a 'thump' which he thought to be a psbl bird strike. He said he initiated a missed apch, but did not recall whether he added pwr or disengaged the auto-plt. Subsequently, the acft dscndd into trees & crashed abt 2.5 mi west of the arpt. An exam of the crash site revealed the acft had collided with treetops, then pulled up & contd over trees for about 400' & finally dscndd steeply into the wooded area & crashed in a river. No preimpact part failure or malfunction of the acft was found. Elev of the crash site was rprtd as 754'.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N54848
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 27-7554148
- Airframe hours
- 3,728
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-C4B5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Hansen Flying Service
- Registered owner
- Hansen Flying Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · March 16, 1988 · 16 hours before
- Departed
- GRR · Grand Rapids, MI
- Destination
- AMN · Alma, MI
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- AMN · Alma, runway 9, 5,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 23
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,673 total · 146 in this make and model · 1,163 as pilot in command · 71 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 100° at 9 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- 200 ft
- Temperature
- 41 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MBS, 24 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.