- Date
- July 24, 1989, 22:36 local (Jul 25, 1989, 02:36 UTC)
- Place
- Stonington, CT
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N29216Piper PA-28-161
- Weather
- Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report December 10, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890724025149A
- Case key
- 36446
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 inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and his loss of aircraft control due to spatial disorientation. Factors related to the accident were: the environmental conditions (dark night & fog) and the pilot's lack of instrument experience.
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
Before takeoff, the plt obtained wx info. No wx rprt was available for the dep arpt, but the destn (hartford, CT) was rprtd as clear. The plt said he was informed on UNICOM freq that there was only ground fog in rhode island, which shouldnot have interfered with his flt to hartford. After preflighting the acft, he 'observed the stars directly overhead and concluded that there was just ground fog.' Also, the plt stated that after takeoff, the acft had climbed to 200 ft MSL when he suddenly realized the density of the fog was thicker than rprtd or anticipated. (The arpt elev was 81 ft.) he said he then experienced vertigo (spatial disorientation) & lost control of the acft. Subsequently, the acft hit the tops of trees & crashed in the pawcatuck river. As the acft sank, the occupants egressed, then swam to a dock where they rcvd help.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N29216
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-161
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7916421
- Airframe hours
- 3,855
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D3G, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Michael Kahlman
- Registered owner
- Mack Grant
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 1989
- Departed
- Westerly, RI
- Destination
- HFD · Hartford, CT
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- WST · Westerly State, runway 25, 4,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 25
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 90 total · 34 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.