- Date
- October 21, 1992, 08:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Maryland Height, MO
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N7858NPiper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921021043049A
- Case key
- 15608
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Blockage of the induction air system by a mouse nest.
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
The pilot reported the engine started and ran normally through liftoff. About 100 feet above takeoff, the engine lost power, restarted, then quit again. After the accident, mouse nests were found in the engine compartment and nest debris was found in the airduct and airbox. The engine started and ran during a test.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7858N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-5316
- Airframe hours
- 2,931
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Flotron, Francis E., Jr.
- Registered owner
- Flotron, Francis E., Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 6, 1992 · 84 hours before
- Departed
- 02K
- Destination
- AIZ · Kaizer, MO
- Airport
- 02K · Arrowhead, runway 2, 2,700 × 47 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
- 38
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 658 total · 586 in this make and model · 568 as pilot in command · 41 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SUS, 9 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.