- Date
- March 1, 1989, 19:51 local (Mar 2, 1989, 00:51 UTC)
- Place
- Toms River, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N40978Piper PA-31-350
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890301002899A
- Case key
- 36274
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain airspeed and control of the aircraft, and his exceeding the design stress limits of the aircraft. Factors related to the accident were: autoplt malfunction due to improper installation by maintenance personnel and the pilot's failure to preflight the autopilot before using it in flight.
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 acft was cruising at 8500 ft when it experienced an inflt loss of control. The plt said the autopilot pitch trim ran away nose down & he was unable to disconnect the autopilot prior to the loss of control. Exam of the acft showed the left elevator horn was bent down & the right elevator horn was broken off. The autopilot was examined & all disconnects except for the accelerometer test functioned properly. The pitch trim board was found improperly installed in the auto pilot & did not make connection. With the altitude hold engaged, the autopilot would hold the elevator position at time of engagement & trim to keep the forces neutral. If the aircraft slowed, it would lose altitude & trim nose up. Radar data showed the acft started to slow, then descended from 8500 to 8300 ft, then climbed to 8900 ft. the acft then came down very rapidly to 1700 ft prior to a recovery. Rprtdly, the plt did not test the autoplt before takeoff. .
Aircraft
- Registration
- N40978
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31-350
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31-8152199
- Airframe hours
- 4,131
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-J2B2, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Falcon Flight Center
- Registered owner
- Ranger Air Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 25, 1989 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- HFD · Hartford, CT
- Destination
- ACY · Atlantic City, NJ
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
- 26
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,300 total · 300 in this make and model · 2,000 as pilot in command · 120 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- 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.
Other investigations on N40978 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.