- Date
- April 6, 1985, 18:15 local (23:15 UTC)
- Place
- Nantucket, MA
- Injuries
- 3 serious, 5 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N68DDPiper PA-31-310
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850406011059A
- Case key
- 35804
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.
In flight encounter with weather
In flight collision with terrain/water
Minimum descent altitude - belowCause
Anxiety/apprehensionFactor
Descent - not correctedCause
Missed approach - not performedFactor
Analysis
Acft collided with trees during final approach to runway 24. No evidence of pre-impact failure or malfunction of the acft was found. Reported wx at crash site indefinite 100 feet sky obscured. RVR 2400 feet. Acft should have encountered a decreasing headwind and probably moderate turbulence on the final descent.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N68DD
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31-310
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31-532
- Airframe hours
- 6,878
- Engine
- Lycoming TI0-540A2B, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Nantucket Aircrft Main.,Inc., doing business as Will'S Air
- Registered owner
- Richard K. & Dawn Derridinger
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · March 25, 1985 · 21 hours before
- Departed
- HYA · Hyannis, MA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- ACK · Nantucket, runway 24, 6,303 × 50 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 33
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,800 total · 370 in this make and model · 5,300 as pilot in command · 155 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 200 ft
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ACK, 1 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.