- Date
- December 31, 1987, 17:42 local (22:42 UTC)
- Place
- Burlington, VT
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2243JPiper PA-32RT-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report December 12, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871231072769A
- Case key
- 35994
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
Drg flt fm wilmington, de to rutland, VT, the plt diverted to binghamton after recg the albany wx & learning rutland wx was not available. After lndg, he told fss psnl he phoned rutland & was told the wx was good. He got 2 wx briefings bfr contg the flt & was adzd of flt precautions for icing & turbc, as well as pireps concerning icing. He filed a flt plan &contd on to rutland. While apchg rutland at 6000', he rprtd mod icing. He reqd clnc to clb & was clrd to 8000', but had difficulty clbg. He reqd & recd vectors to Burlington, which had 3500' ovc & good vis. While en route, he was unable to maint min safe alt of 5500' & declared an emerg. After dscndg blo clds, he said ice was coming off the acft. He rprtd the rwy in sight & was clrd to lnd. Witnesses said that on final apch, the acft lost 150 to 200 ft, then regained some alt svrl times. Drg 3rd loss of alt, it hit the gnd in a flat attitude & slid aprx 300' onto the rwy. The acft was not equipped for flt in known icing conds. Pitot heat sw fnd in off psn. DC-9 crew rprtd 15 kt loss of speed on final apch.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2243J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32RT-300 (PA-32RT-30)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32R-7985054
- Airframe hours
- 1,401
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Pual H. Spiller
- Registered owner
- J. Hocutt, Jr. P. H. Spiller
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 30, 1987 · 19 hours before
- Departed
- BGM · Binghamton, NY
- Destination
- RUT · Rutland, VT
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- BTV · Burlington Intl, runway 15, 7,807 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 39
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 734 total · 230 in this make and model · 610 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 170° at 22 knots, gusting 32
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 27 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BVT
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.