- Date
- August 5, 1983, 21:20 local (Aug 6, 1983, 01:20 UTC)
- Place
- Fishers Island, NY
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6877JPiper PA-28-181
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830805046659A
- Case key
- 35069
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 plt had called his home base & was told that fog was beginning to move shoreward & that the intended destination, (waterford, CT) would not remain VFR for long. The plts of N6877J & another acft chose to depart immediately. Before arriving, fog had moved in, so they elected to divert to Fishers Island, NY. During their arrival to Fishers Island, the plt of N6877J was leading. It was a dark night, but the plt of the following acft estimated that the visibility in that area was aprx 15 mi. While the plt of the 2nd acft was still at 3000 ft, he observed N6877J on a 1 mi base leg for rwy 19 when it crashed. He stated that the acft appeared to do a cartwheel on the water when it impacted. Two acft wheels & the plts body were recovered, but the main wreckage was not found. The arpt was equipped with medium intensity rwy lights, but there were no VASI lights installed & no instrument approach for the arpt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6877J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-76990418
- Airframe hours
- 4,423
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Yankee Airways, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 15, 1983 · 90 hours before
- Departed
- BID · Block Island, RI
- Destination
- 7B8 · Waterford, CT
- Airport
- 0B8 · Elizabeth Field, runway 12, 2,850 × 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
- 25
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 639 total · 439 in this make and model · 504 as pilot in command · 91 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Temperature
- 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GON, 4 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.