- Date
- July 23, 1986, 09:13 local (13:13 UTC)
- Place
- Steinhatchee, FL
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6151JPiper PA-28-181
- Weather
- Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860723034999A
- Case key
- 31510
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
On 7/23/86, ARTCC lost radar & radio contact with the acft while the plt was in lvl flt at 6000 ft in an area of lvl 3 & 4 thunderstorms (tstms). Two days later, the left wing panel & the tips of the horizontal stabilators were fnd in the vicinity of where contact with the acft was lost. On 7/26/86, the main wreckage was fnd aprx .8 mi further to the sw. There was evidence of upward failure of the wing & downward failure of the stabilators, both from overload. No pre-acdnt part failure or malfunction was fnd. The plt of another acft rprtd that he noted a large 'wall' of cumulus clouds in the acdnt area; he diverted to avoid the wx.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6151J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7690354
- Airframe hours
- 4,199
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Sundowners Flying Club
- Registered owner
- Wendell Denbesten
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 11, 1986
- Departed
- FMY · Ft. Myers, FL
- Destination
- TLH · Tallahassee, FL
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 50
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 349 total · 262 in this make and model · 2,770 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Day
- Wind
- 230° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GNV, 60 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.