- Date
- October 12, 1982, 20:00 local (Oct 13, 1982, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Near St. Croix
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Unknown
- Aircraft
- N77QTPiper PA-32-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report October 12, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19821012052739A
- Case key
- 71935
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
The non-instrument rated pilot departed st Croix, VI at about 2000 local time on a VFR flight to san juan, PR. The weather was VFR, but it was a dark night. The aircraft failed to arrive at its destination and a search was initiated. About 10 miles northwest of the st Croix VOR, floating debris was found which included a seat, one main gear, some insulation panels and the aircraft registration certificate. An examination of the recovered parts showed that the aircraft impacted the ocean water at a high rate of speed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N77QT
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-7240100
- Airframe hours
- 2,931
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1A5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Unknown
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Early Bird Coporation
- Registered owner
- Early Bird Coporation
- Departed
- STX · Christiansted
- Destination
- SJU · San Juan, PR
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
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 240 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 90° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Observed at
- 10 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.