- Date
- July 16, 1989, 21:30 local (Jul 17, 1989, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Thomasville, PA
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N2829DPiper PA-28-236
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890716022339A
- Case key
- 36289
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
The pilot's failure to fly the published approach procedure, which resulted in controlled flight into the terrain.
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 pilot of the Piper PA28-236 was cleared for an NDB approach and radar service was terminated. The aircraft was seen by several witnesses flying very low, about 1 mile west of the inbound published approach course according to witnesses the weather conditions at the time of the accident were poor with low visibility, due to fog and drizzle. The airport is equipped with runway strobe lights, but there were no witnesses that could remember if they were on or off at the time of the accident. When last seen the aircraft was flying low perpendicular (east) to the inbound course, it then turned left, flying away from the airport.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2829D
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-236
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7911193
- Airframe hours
- 2,703
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-J35D, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Roy Brotherhood/K. Mitzel
- Registered owner
- Brotherhood, R./Mitzel, K.W.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 27, 1988 · 205 hours before
- Departed
- AGC · Allegheny City
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- THV · York-Thomaswke, runway 16, 4,190 × 100 ft, concrete
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 571 total · 288 in this make and model · 392 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 90° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,700 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CXY, 15 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.