- Date
- December 27, 1989, 12:24 local (17:24 UTC)
- Place
- No. Andover, MA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N9975QPiper PA-18-135
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891227064729A
- Case key
- 36591
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 inadvertently turned off the magneto switch during a go-around, resulting in a loss of power. Also causal to the accident was the failure of the pilot of a second airplane to respond to the tower controller's instructions. A factor related to the accident was the pilot's limited flight experience in this model airplane.
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
During the final approach, the pilot of N9975Q was instructed by the tower to make a go-around, because another airplane had failed to respond to tower instructions. The pilot said, 'I applied full throttle and closed the carb heat then the engine sputtered and quit.' When the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing, the other airplane was on the runway, still ignoring tower instructions. The pilot of N9975Q banked left and landed in snow covered grass, and the airplane nosed over. No mechanical discrepancies were found during the post-accident investigation of the engine; however, the magneto switch was set in the off position.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9975Q
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-135
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-4038
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-D-2, 135 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- George W. Joyner
- Departed
- LWM · No. Andover, MA
- Airport
- LWM · Lawrence Muni, runway 14, 3,901 × 100 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 48
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 149 total · 13 in this make and model · 102 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Temperature
- 10 °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.