- Date
- May 29, 1988, 16:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- W. Peru, ME
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N54368Piper PA-28-140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 24, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880529016539A
- Case key
- 36161
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 cockpit of the Piper PA-28 filled with smoke after takeoff, at an altitude of approximately 800 ft. the pilot tried to land on a road and struck trees, shearing off the wings. The fuselage landed on a road, inverted and was immediately enfulfed in flames. The student pilot escaped with no injuries. The cause of the fire was not determined as the entire cockpit area was destroyed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N54368
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7425109
- Airframe hours
- 3,150
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Both
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- John Daley
- Registered owner
- John E Daley
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 2, 1987 · 20 hours before
- Airport
- ME22 · Swans Field, runway 33, 2,000 × 100 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
- 56
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 130 total · 65 in this make and model · 110 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.