- Date
- February 25, 1985, 19:35 local (Feb 26, 1985, 01:35 UTC)
- Place
- Sunset Hills, MO
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N404RSPiper PA-31P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850225006019A
- Case key
- 33822
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 acft was on a ngt instructional flt with 2 multi-eng instructor plts at the controls & a rated plt occupying a rear pax seat. The rgt fnt seat occupant was an experienced multi-eng plt with 110 hrs in this make & model; however, his 2NDCLASS med cert was issued in jan 1983. The l fnt seat occupant had just received his multi-eng intructor rating & had only 3 hrs in this make & model. He had a current med cert & was presumed to be the plt-in-command. The aircrew made 2 passes over rwy 18, then manuevered onto a downwind leg of the pattern. According to witnesses, the acft was northeast of the arpt at aprx 300 to 400 ft AGL & maneuvering back toward the rwy when it entered a steep dscnt, crashed & burned. The acft crashed northeast of the arpt in a wooded area. Impact occurred on a southerly hdg in about an 18 deg dive. No preimpact part failure/malfunction was fnd; however, the acft was extensively damaged during impact. Tox checks of the pax & rgt fnt seat occupants showed each had an alcohol lvl of 0.117%. No alcohol fnd in the l fnt seat occupant's blood
Aircraft
- Registration
- N404RS
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18
- Airframe hours
- 493
- Engine
- Lycoming TIGO-541-E1A, 425 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Wts, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 10, 1985
- Departed
- 3WE · Fenton, MO
- Airport
- 3WE · Weiss, runway 18
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
- 27
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,420 total · 3 in this make and model · 1,396 as pilot in command · 162 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 140° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SUS, 8 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.