- Date
- April 5, 1983, 17:53 local (22:53 UTC)
- Place
- Tampa, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6079RPiper PA-60-601P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830405011299A
- Case key
- 30867
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 aircraft departed runway 18L at Tampa intl airport. Shortly after takeoff the pilot reported to the control tower that the main cabin door was open and requested landing instructions. The pilot stated he was holding the door and trying to fly the aircraft while on short final approach to runway 27. The pilot lost control of the aircraft and collided with the ground approx 200 ft short of runway 27. Examination of the locking mechanism showed no evidence of malfunction or failure. Aircraft flight manual states: 'should the cabin door inadvertently open in flight, reduce airspeed and land as soon as possible. Do not attempt to manually close (or hold closed) the door in flight due to the possibility of injury caused by the propeller or by air loads on the door.'
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6079R
- Reported as
- Piper PA-60-601P
- Category
- Airplane
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-S1A5, 290 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Charles Hilton Loyd, Jr.
- Destination
- X09 · Ocean Reef, FL
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- Tampa, runway 27, 7,000 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 60
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Unknown, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 6,893 total · 186 in this make and model · 20 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 249° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TPA
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 N6079R · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.