NYC83FA037

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA-32-260 · Douglassville, PA · December 2, 1982

Accident · FatalField investigationFinal report
Date
December 1, 1982, 22:05 local (Dec 2, 1982, 03:05 UTC)
Place
Douglassville, PA
Injuries
3 fatal, 2 serious
Damage
Destroyed
Phase of flight
Approach
Aircraft
N32750Piper PA-32-260
Weather
Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
Status
Completed · report December 1, 1983
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19821201063819A
Case key
70498

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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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.

Loss of engine powerMissed approach (ifr)
Reason for occurrence undeterminedCause
Weather condition - carburetor icing conditions
In flight collision with objectMissed approach (ifr)
Light condition - nightFactor
Weather condition - low ceilingFactor
Weather condition - fogFactor
Terrain condition - high terrainFactor
Object - tree(s)Factor

Analysis

At aprx 1540 EST, the acft was dispatched to philadelphia, PA on a pax flt. After arriving, the plt remained there to pick up 4 other pax that were arriving at approx 2100 EST. At 2007, the plt received a partial wx brief & filed an IFR flt plan to rtn to pottstown. The acft departed with an IFR clnc at 2145 & proceeded at 3000 ft MSL, just abv the cld tops. Drg arrival, the plt was clrd for a vor-b apch to the pottstown muni arpt. He rprtd that he could see the arpt beacon from over the VOR, but noted patchy gnd fog. The apch was contd to the missed apch point where he lost site of the bcn. He bgn making a missed apch; however, when the throttle was advanced, no difference in eng sound was noted, except he recalled there may have been some "flutter in the engine." Rprtdly, the acft contd dsndg & slowing til it hit trees at 440 ft MSL, aprx 1 mi nw of the arpt (arpt elev 256 ft). No preimpact failure was found. Temp & dew pt were 48 deg, icg prob chart indicated serious carb icg conds were present. However, psn of carb heat ctl could not be verified.

Aircraft

Registration
N32750
Reported as
Piper PA-32-260
Category
Airplane
Serial number
32-7500008
Airframe hours
3,745
Engine
Lycoming O-540-E4B5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Destroyed
Fire
On-Ground
Flight
Part 135
Operator
Basco Flying Service, Inc.
Registered owner
Basco Flying Service, Inc.
Departed
PHL · Philadelphia, PA
Destination
N47 · Pottstown, PA
Flight plan
IFR
Airport
N47 · Pottstown Municipal, runway 25, 2,700 × 75 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
Certificates
Flight instructor, Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Flight hours
3,716 total · 100 in this make and model · 3,479 as pilot in command · 268 in the last 90 days · 84 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
Wind
Calm
Lowest ceiling
400 ft
Temperature
118 °F
Altimeter
30.00 inHg
Observed at
RDG, 15 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.