- Date
- December 27, 1992, 20:19 local (Dec 28, 1992, 01:19 UTC)
- Place
- Jacksonville, FL
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N3620MPiper PA-28R-201
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921227051869A
- Case key
- 33173
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
The pilot-in-command's failure to attain an adequate climb rate during the missed approach in IMC conditions. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's spatial disorientation.
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 private pilot who had recently received an instrument airplane rating attempted to execute a night instrument approach in weather conditions near the minimum authorized. He contacted fss and announced his intentions to execute a missed approach that consisted of a climbing right turn. No further communications were heard. The airplane was found about 6 hours later inverted in a swampy tree area about 12 miles to the right of the threshold on the runway to which the approach had been attempted. Examination of the airplane, engine, vacuum system, and gyros revealed no preexisting failures.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3620M
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R-201
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R37127
- Airframe hours
- 3,077
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-C1C6, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Downtown Aviation
- Registered owner
- B&H Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 10, 1992 · 75 hours before
- Departed
- GAD · Gadsden, AL
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- CRG · Craig Field, runway 32, 4,007 × 100 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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 244 total · 50 in this make and model · 11 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 10° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CRG, 1 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.