- Date
- August 21, 1988, 15:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Wall Township, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5474WPiper PA-28-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 14, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880821034149A
- Case key
- 36218
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Incapacitation of the pilot due to a heart attack and an emergency landing in trees by a non-pilot passenger.
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 pvt pilot of a Piper PA-28-150 took off with one passenger and few minutes after takeoff, he became unconscious. The passenger gave the pilot mouth to mouth resuscitation; however, the pilot was not revived. The non-pilot passenger attempted an off-airport landing and struck trees. The pilot received minor injuries and the passenger received serious injuries. The unconscious pilot was removed from the aircraft where attempts were made to revive him. He was transported to a local medical facility where he was pronounced dead. The pilot had been under treatment for hypertension (high blood pressure). An autopsy showed severe occlusion of his coronary arteries. Toxicology test revealed the presence of verampamil, a cardiac medication which had been prescribed. The passenger had no previous flying experience.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5474W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-556
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert W. Bunyon
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 2N8 · Matawan, NJ
- Destination
- 2N8
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
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 205 total · 117 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.