- Date
- June 17, 1990, 16:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Franklin Center, PA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N3393APiper PA-22-135
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 8, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900617021069A
- Case key
- 36665
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
Loss of engine power for an undetermined reason and the failure of the pilot to maintain airspeed during a forced landing which restuled in an inadvertent stall.
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 airplane was on base leg about one mile from the airport when carburetor heat was applied. The engine surged and then lost power, and was not restarted. The airplane descended and impacted in a nose low, left wing low attitude. No evidence of a pre-existing failure or malfunction was found. The temperature 11 miles away was recorded at 89 degrees f and the dewpoint at 68 degrees f.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3393A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22-135
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-1651
- Airframe hours
- 2,000
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-D2, 135 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Michael J. Surovick
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 21, 1989 · 13 hours before
- Airport
- 96PA · Franklin Center
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
- 67
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 600 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft unknown
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ERI, 11 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.