- Date
- July 27, 1988, 01:30 local (05:30 UTC)
- Place
- Pocantico Hills, NY
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N9715WPiper PA-28-140
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report January 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880727028179A
- Case key
- 36009
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 non-instrument rated private pilot departed in instrument flight conditions against the advice of several people he talked to. Approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes after departure the first of four or five mayday calls were heard by bridgeport radio and an aircraft flying in the bridgeport, CT area. ELT signals were heard during various attempts to make contact with N9715W and prior to the last known transmission from the aircraft which was about 30 minutes before the accident. A witness, who lives near the outer marker for the ILS at runway 16 at westchester county airport, heard an aircraft fly over his house twice, the second time he thought that it was going to collide with the ground. He stated that the time was about 0130 and the weather was 'zero, zero.' The aircraft collided with trees in hilly terrain near the airport.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9715W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 23191
- Airframe hours
- 4,790
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Air Ground Leasing, doing business as Air Ground Leasing
- Registered owner
- Air Ground Leasing
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 8, 1988 · 11 hours before
- Departed
- BID · Block Island, RI
- Destination
- HPN · White Plains, NY
- Airport
- HPN · Westchester, runway 16, 6,550 × 150 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
- 31
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 135 total · 110 in this make and model · 55 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 110° at 4 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- 100 ft
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BDR
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.