NYC85FA166

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA-24-250 · Tioga, PA · July 14, 1985

Accident · FatalField investigationFinal report
Date
July 14, 1985, 17:41 local (21:41 UTC)
Place
Tioga, PA
Injuries
2 fatal, 1 serious
Damage
Destroyed
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N7934PPiper PA-24-250
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19850714071689A
Case key
35572

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.

OverrunLanding
Weather condition - tailwindFactor
Proper touchdown point - not attainedPilot in commandFactor
Distance - misjudgedPilot in commandCause
Airspeed - misjudgedPilot in commandCause
Go-around - delayedPilot in commandCause
On ground/water collision with objectTakeoff
Object - fenceFactor
In flight collision with objectTakeoff - initial climb
Object - tree(s)Factor
In flight collision with terrain/waterDescent - uncontrolled

Analysis

The plt initiated a downwind landing on a grass rwy that sloped mostly uphill, but began sloping downhill at its departure end. A witness near the apch end of the 2150 ft rwy watched the acft touch down beyond its midpoint, then disappear over its crested end. A witness near the departure end heard the acft & 'turned to watch the plane takeoff.' He stated that the acft was headed toward trees & that it looked like the plt was trying to pull up. Subsequently, the acft collided with the trees on downsloping terrain, crashed & burned. One passenger, the plt's son, survived the crash,but died later due to the injuries & burns. An exam of the crash area revealed that the acft had hit a barb wire fence. One of the prop blades had a barb wire radius nick mark on its leading edge. Previously, the plt had stated that at thisarpt, he preferred to always land uphill, regardless of the wind. The wind at the time of the accident was reported to be from 215 deg at 10 gusting 15 KTS.

Aircraft

Registration
N7934P
Reported as
Piper PA-24-250
Category
Airplane
Serial number
24-3168
Engine
Lycoming O-540-A1D5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Destroyed
Fire
On-Ground
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
Walter Davis Harman
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Departed
Detroit, MI
Destination
31N
Airport
Hughes, runway 1, 2,150 × 75 ft, grass/turf

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
65
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat
Left
Toxicology
Performed
Flight hours
1,200 total

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
215° at 10 knots, gusting 15
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
10,000 ft overcast
Temperature
81 °F
Observed at
ELM, 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.

Other investigations on N7934P · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.