- Date
- August 9, 1991, 13:33 local (18:33 UTC)
- Place
- Midland, TX
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Uncontrolled descent
- Aircraft
- N8144JPiper PA-28RT-201T
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 23, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910809033249A
- Case key
- 23274
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
The pilot's inability to control the airplane due to his physiological incaapacitation. A factor was the pilot's impairment due to the usage of pain medications.
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 airplane crashed in a shallow uncontrolled attitude about 3.5 miles from its intended destination while heading in the opposite direction, despite having received vectors through an arsa and a landing advisory from the UNICOM. Review of the ATC tapes from the departure and arrival segments revealed that the pilot was in extreme physical distress upon arrival. Analysis of the tapes and the pilot's medical history by a panel of flight surgeons indicated that the pilot was incapacitated shortly before impact, probably due to a major medical impairment. The autopsy revealed several artifacts indicative of several years of hypertension and ankylosing spondylitis. He was taking medication for the conditions, however, the medications, taken in parallel, counteracted the antihypertensive medicine's effect. In addition, his toxicology samples revealed two pain medications, normally prescribed to alleviate the side effects of the prescriptions being taken for the medical conditions, in quantities above the normal therapeutic levels. One of the
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8144J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28RT-201T (PA-28RT-20)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-8231034
- Airframe hours
- 3,808
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-360-FB1, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Stevens Operating Corp.
- Registered owner
- Stevens Operating Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 7, 1991 · 93 hours before
- Departed
- ROW · Roswell, NM
- Airport
- MDD · Midland Airpark, runway 11, 4,380 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 61
- Certificate
- Private
- 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
- 4,000 total · 25 in this make and model · 3,500 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MAF, 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.