- Date
- November 9, 1983, 08:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- West Seneca, NY
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4708PPiper PA-23-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19831109056709A
- Case key
- 35292
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 being repositioned by the owner from a maintenance facility at buffalo intl arpt to buffalo airpark. Maintenance personnel at both locations who had dealt with the owner indicated he had attempted to cut costs by performing unauthorized repairs himself. These repairs were not complete prior to departing buffalo intl. The plt of N4708P aborted his first tkof stating to the twr '...I had a little miss.' Witnesses stated that during the second tkof the acft climbed to abt 50 ft then lost alt with the nose pitching down. The rate of descent was arrested before gd contact and a slow 'mushy' climb was initiated. The acft never exceeded 300 ft alt in the 5 mile flt to buffalo airpark. It was obsvd by the twr supervisor to oscillate nose up and down aft extending the lndg gr followed by rolling to the rt and spinning into the gd approx 1 mile e of buffalo airpark. Investigation revealed the plt had accumulated approx 50 hours time in PA-23'S, 28 hours as PIC and 5 hours in the last 90 days.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4708P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 237
- Airframe hours
- 6,366
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-A, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dsh Aviation Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 20, 1982 · 23 hours before
- Departed
- BUF · Buffalo, NY
- Destination
- 9G0 · West Seneca, NY
- Airport
- 9G0 · Buffalo Airpark, runway 24, 2,600 × 60 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
- 63
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 375 total · 50 in this make and model · 225 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BUF, 5 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.