- Date
- October 20, 1988, 19:15 local (Oct 21, 1988, 00:15 UTC)
- Place
- Indianapolis, IN
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N7733PPiper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report December 3, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881020047009A
- Case key
- 14303
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
Shortly after liftoff and landing gear retraction, the pilot inadvertently allowed the aircraft to touch down on the runway. The pilot stated that his attention was distracted by conversation with one of the passengers and he failed to maintain a positive rate of climb.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7733P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-2947
- Airframe hours
- 2,844
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-A1D5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Graves, Dorel
- Registered owner
- Graves, Dorel
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 10, 1987 · 44 hours before
- Departed
- I14 · Indianapolis, IN
- Airport
- I14 · Eagle Creek, runway 3, 4,200 × 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
- 40
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 9,787 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 8,213 as pilot in command · 203 in the last 90 days · 64 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 13,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IND, 6 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.