FTW84FA074

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA-23 · Comfort, TX · November 25, 1983

Accident · FatalField investigationFinal report

Date: November 25, 1983, 12:15 local (18:15 UTC)
Place: Comfort, TX
Injuries: 4 fatal
Damage: Destroyed
Phase of flight: Initial climb
Aircraft: N215ECPiper PA-23
Weather: Visual (VMC) · Day
Status: Completed
Report: Approved by Office Director
FAA report: 19831125059899A
Case key: 21087

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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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 powerTakeoff - initial climb

Reason for occurrence undeterminedCause

Forced landingManeuvering - turn to landing area (emergency)

Loss of control - in flightManeuvering - turn to landing area (emergency)

Airspeed(vmc) - belowPilot in commandCause

In flight collision with terrain/waterManeuvering - turn to landing area (emergency)

Analysis

Witnesses stated that the acft barely cleared trees at the end of the arpt & that smoke was seen trailing from the righteng. The acft entered a right turn, stalled & impacted a ridge in a steep, near vertically banked dive. Teardowns of both engs & both props revealed no mechanical evidence of malfunction. However, post-impact fire had prevented thorough examinations of the fuel, ignition & induction systems.

Aircraft

Registration: N215EC
Reported as: Piper PA-23
Category: Airplane
Serial number: 23-1178
Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1D, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage: Destroyed
Fire: On-Ground
Flight: Personal · Part 91
Registered owner: Dr. Charles Thuss Jr.
Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
Last inspection: Annual · May 20, 1983
Destination: Fredricksburg, TX
Airport: IT5 · Quiet Valley, runway 14, 1,950 × 60 ft, grass/turf

N215ECRegistration cancelled Aug 10, 2012 · Piper PA-23S/N 23-1178 · Built 1957 Airframe modelPiper PA-23 Engine modelLycoming 0-320 seriesReciprocating

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: 47
Certificate: Commercial
Airplane ratings: Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
Instrument ratings: Airplane
Medical: Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat: Left

Weather

Conditions: Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind: 200° at 15 knots, gusting 25
Visibility: 15 statute miles
Lowest ceiling: None
Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 50 °F

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.

Accident 19831125059899APiper PA23160 · Comfort, TXReport indicates a possible right engine turbocharger problem on climbout. Below VMC, stalled, rolled and crashed.Nov 25, 1983 · N215EC · Destroyed · 3 fatal

Other investigations on N215EC · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

NTSB FTW81FRG56Accident · No injuriesClosedHondo, TXJul 27, 1981 · Substantial damage