DCA83AA025

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA-23 · Gaithersburg, MD · May 7, 1983

Accident · FatalFinal report
Date
May 7, 1983, 18:33 local (22:33 UTC)
Place
Gaithersburg, MD
Injuries
3 fatal
Damage
Destroyed
Phase of flight
Unknown
Aircraft
N1236PPiper PA-23
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Major Investigations Division
Case key
15783

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.

Loss of engine powerUnknown
Reason for occurrence undeterminedCause
Loss of control - in flightApproach - vfr pattern - final approach
Airspeed(vmc) - not maintainedPilot in commandCause
In flight collision with terrain/waterDescent - uncontrolled

Analysis

The owner/plt was on a flt, accompanied by two nephews, ages 19 & 8 yrs old. An associate of the owner/plt reported that the 19 yr old nephew, who occupied the right front seat, was a single eng plt, but had no multi-eng instruction. However, no FAA records were found to verify that the nephew was a plt. About 5 mi north of the destination (montgomery co arpt), 2 ground witnesses, who were both plts, saw a Piper apache in level flt at about 1000 ft AGL with the right prop feathered. After they took off in their acft, they tuned in the montgomery co advisory freq to determine if there were any transmissions from the apache. They heard the plt of an apache report on downwind, but heard no mention of an eng problem or an emergency. Witnesses on the arpt & under the base leg for rwy 14 observed the apache turn to final apch with the right prop feathered. The acft then rolled into a right descending nose down attitude & crashed in a steepdescent. No preimpact part failure or malfunction was fnd. Drg med exam on 8/12/82, the plt rprtd 1200 hrs total time.

Aircraft

Registration
N1236P
Reported as
Piper PA-23
Category
Airplane
Serial number
23-257
Engine
Lycoming IO-320-A3B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Destroyed
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
Henry J. Zoranski
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · November 1, 1982
Departed
2W2 · Westminster, MD
Destination
GAI
Airport
GAI · Montgomery County Airpark, runway 14, 4,200 × ft, asphalt

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
63
Certificate
Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat
Left
Toxicology
Performed
Flight hours
1,200 total

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
160° at 16 knots, gusting 20
Visibility
20 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
64 °F, dew point 61 °F
Altimeter
30.00 inHg
Observed at
BWI, 23 nm away