- Date
- May 5, 1985, 13:50 local (20:50 UTC)
- Place
- Springville, CA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5166WPiper PA-28-160
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850505069909A
- Case key
- 24715
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
After overflying the uncharted, private airstrip & evaluating its size, the PIC attempted to land on the narrow rwy. Only about 900 ft of the rwy was usable. After touching down, the plt realized the acft could not be stopped on the remaining available strip, so he attempted to go around. The acft became airborne, but it would not outclimb rising terrain beyond a small valley at the end of the strip. Subsequently, the acft collided with a tree & crashed in a meadow about 600 yards from the landing area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5166W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-160
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-197
- Airframe hours
- 2,556
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-B2B, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dennis Kirwan & Douglas Arnew
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 27, 1984
- Departed
- PTV · Porterville, CA
- Destination
- Springville, CA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- Sequoia Ranch, runway 36, 900 × 8 ft, gravel
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
- 20
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 225 total · 75 in this make and model · 165 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N5166W · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.