- Date
- April 18, 1985, 07:15 local (12:15 UTC)
- Place
- Clarion, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N506ACPiper PA-23-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850418067809A
- Case key
- 35861
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 purpose of the flight was to position the aircraft at pittsburgh, PA. During the takeoff roll at buffalo, two to three short power surges in the no. 1 engine were experienced but the pilot decided not to abort and continued to destination. The aircraft ran smoothly with the mixture leaned and the RPM at 2400. However when the pilot further lean the left mixture, the no. 1 engine began to surge as though it was fuel starved. A precautionary landing was made at Clarion airport, while landing, at 60 knots. The aircraft continued rolling off the runway through the grass and over a 10' cliff.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N506AC
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 277305018
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Air Continental, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- BUF · Buffalo, NY
- Destination
- AGC · Pittburgh, PA
- Airport
- 11D · Clarion Co., runway 5, 3,500 × 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
- 22
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 170 total · 170 in this make and model · 2,066 as pilot in command · 190 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DUJ
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.