- Date
- July 16, 1989, 11:58 local (15:58 UTC)
- Place
- Hartleton, PA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6206PPiper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 13, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890716028449A
- Case key
- 36290
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 allowed the design stress limits of the aircraft to be exceeded after encountering adverse weather conditions. Weather was a related factor.
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 on an IFR flt at 7000 ft. at 1158:29, the plt rprtd, 'six two zero six papa spinning.' Subsequently, the acft crashed on wooded terrain near the top of a mtn ridge. According to a witness, who saw the acft before it crashed, there was an unusual cloud formation in the area, as well as strong/gusty winds. He said he saw the acft disappear behind a wall of clouds & reappear. He indicated the acft entered a spin, then flew back up almost as fast as it came down, before crashing. An exam of the wreckage revealed evidence that the horizontal stabilizers separated in flt. They were found away from the main wreckage & had failed in a downward direction from overload. No other preimpact part failure was evident. Weather radar data showed that the acft had crashed in the area of a level 2 echo.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6206P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-1308
- Airframe hours
- 3,344
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-A1C5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard F. Cook
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 26, 1988 · 25 hours before
- Departed
- BFD · Bradford, PA
- Destination
- N47 · Pottstown, PA
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 4,419 total · 24 in this make and model · 4,361 as pilot in command · 32 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SEG, 17 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.
Other investigations on N6206P · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.