- Date
- September 15, 1985, 19:40 local (Sep 16, 1985, 00:40 UTC)
- Place
- What Cheer, IA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8262UPiper PA-28-181
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850915047769A
- Case key
- 33856
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 observed flying through the top of a tree, then through a four strand high voltage pwr line. Final impact was relatively flat in a soy-bean field. The plt later stated that he had become disoriented in flt and hallucinated that he was in a Piper J-3 acft instead of a Piper archer. He said he must have lost control as he remembered nothing more until he felt the acft crashing. The acft was observed by witnesses flying thru the tops of some small trees and continuing on thru a small pwr line before making a 'pan-cake' landing in an open soybean fld where it slid on it's belly for 120 ft before stopping. The acft was relatively intact and the eng ran when tested after the accident. The battery had come loose from it's mounting box in the baggage compartment and ended up in the right front cockpit on the floor. The plt was found walking outside the acft after the accident. He had a sprained ankle and lacerations on his head. The plt also had a history of medical problems.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8262U
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-8190036
- Airframe hours
- 2,014
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Iowa City Flying Service
- Registered owner
- Roger L. Borup
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 20, 1985 · 28 hours before
- Departed
- DSM · Des Moines, IA
- Destination
- IOW · Iowa City, IA
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 57
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 157 total · 127 in this make and model · 83 as pilot in command · 7 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 140° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- OTM, 23 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.