- Date
- November 1, 1989, 02:05 local (07:05 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Myers, FL
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N50TRPiper 601P
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 5, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891101044139A
- Case key
- 32534
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Failure of the pilot to properly follow the IFR procedure and to identify the decision height. Factors related to the accident were: the adverse weather conditions, darkness, the pilot's lack of visual perception without the approach lights, and tree(s) in the accident area.
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 acft depd miami at ngt on an on-demand, air taxi flt to ft Myers, FL. During arrival at the destn, the flt enctrd IFR conds. The plt obtained clnc for an ILS rwy 6 apch & was told to rprt at the outer marker (om). At 0152:25 EST, he rprtd to miami center that he was over the om. This was his last transmission to an ATC facility. At about 0203 EST, he made a transmission on UNICOM freq to inform arpt opns psnl that he could not get the apch lights to operate. He was asked if he had used the proper freq & had keyed the mike the required number of times. The plt indcd that he had properly keyed the mike; however, UNICOM psnl did not hear any keying of the mike except for 2 clicks. The acft ctcd the gnd in a nrly level attitude & with the gear extended, aprx 1.5 mi short of rwy 6. It then skidded about 90 ft & hit a tree before coming to rest. No preimpact part failure/malfunction was fnd with the acft, eng or apch/rwy lights. The 0149 EST wx at ft Myers was in part: sky obscured, vis 1/4 mi with fog.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N50TR
- Reported as
- Piper 601P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 61P0382225
- Airframe hours
- 1,881
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-S1A5, 290 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Transcontinental Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 20, 1989 · 67 hours before
- Departed
- KMIA · Miami, FL
- Destination
- KRSW
- Airport
- RSW · Southwest Florida Rgnl, runway 6, 8,400 × 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
- 36
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,400 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 40° at 6 knots
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KRSW, 125 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.