- Date
- April 19, 1993, 11:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Nellysford, VA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N1494PPiper PA-23-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930419009709A
- Case key
- 37313
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 inadequate inflight decision and planning, and his failure to maintain an altitude adequate for terrain avoidance.
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 stated that he planned a VFR flight at 1000 ft AGL. His route of flight was over hilly terrain. He said that 'climb performance was noticeably low and...smoke [was coming] from the left engine.' He entered a mountain pass and discovered he could not find an exit from the high terrain. The pilot made a sharp turn to maneuver away from the hills. Witnesses saw the airplane flying at low altitude and then said it 'started a turn to the left and then went straight down, nose first.' They said nothing about seeing 'plumes of black smoke,' or hearing abnormal engine sounds. The left engine was examined, and except for one magneto that was not functioning, nothing was found that would have prevented the engine from running.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1494P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 23-564
- Airframe hours
- 4,850
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A3A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Guckelberg, Frederich A.
- Registered owner
- Guckelberg, Frederich A.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 19, 1992 · 330 hours before
- Departed
- W36 · Chesapeake, VA
- Destination
- MQJ · Mt. Comfort, IN
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
- 33
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,938 total · 357 in this make and model · 1,476 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 17 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.