- Date
- March 5, 1989, 04:00 local (09:00 UTC)
- Place
- Douglas Twsp, PA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N5348SPiper PA-28
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report July 23, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890305002999A
- Case key
- 36275
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
Poor judgement of the student pilot by flying while under the influence of alcohol, and his VFR flight in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) without the required qualification or training. Factors factors related to the accident were: failure of the student pilot to follow procedures and directives, his lack of instrument training, dark night, adverse weather conditions, rising terrain, trees, and failure of the passenger to use a seat belt.
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
A student plt & passenger took off at night in IMC conditions with low ceilings, fog & rain. A witness, who saw the acft fly overhead, verified the ceiling was very low & that rain was falling, sometimes heavily. Subsequently, the acft crashed about 2 mi from the arpt as it flew into trees on about 5 deg rising terrain. The passenger was fatally injured, but the plt walked to a roadway & was helped. The acft was owned by the student plt's father, who said he took it without permission. Before flying, both occupants of the acft were seen consuming alcoholic beverages. Four hrs after the acdnt, blood was drawn from the plt. A toxicology check showed it had an alcohol level of 0.075% (75 mg/dl). A check of the passenger's blood showed an alcohol level of 0.085% (85 mg/dl). Police rprtd the passenger was not wearing a seat belt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5348S
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-26770
- Airframe hours
- 2,719
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Thomas V. Davis
- Registered owner
- James V. Davis
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 16, 1988 · 97 hours before
- Departed
- N47 · Pottstown, PA
- Airport
- N47 · Pottstown Muni
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
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 23 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 70° at 4 knots
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- NXX, 26 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.