- Date
- December 27, 1984, 02:00 local (07:00 UTC)
- Place
- Homestead, FL
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8920CPiper PA-32R-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19841227068249A
- Case key
- 31220
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
While cruising northerly at a low altitude during a dark night, the acft struck a row of trees appx 50 ft tall about 8 ft from the tops, it then hit a large tree at about 6 ft AGL, 670 ft from the initial impact point, & came to rest in a dirt road. An exam of the wreckage revealed no mechanical malfunction. The passenger had a blood/alcohol level of 0.215%. An alcohol test of the plt's blood was negative. No one claimed the wreckage & no id was found on the occupants.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8920C
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32R-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32R-7680143
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-A1G5D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Mordechai Gal
- Registered owner
- Terry Stevens
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
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
- 33
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 90° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TMB, 3 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.