Piper PA-32-300 N4169W

Summary

On 21 August 1988 at about 08:00 local time, a Piper PA-32-300 registered N4169W, operated by Chapel Hill Flying Club, was involved in an accident near Pittsboro, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

21 August 1988 at 08:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Pittsboro, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Horace Williams (W52)

Coordinates

35.7103, -79.1696

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-300

Registration

N4169W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Chapel Hill Flying Club

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

N. Myrtle Beach → Chapel Hill

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

ATL88FA233

1 person died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PLT HAD AN INSTRUMENT PLT ACCOMPANY HIM ON THE FLIGHT TO MYRTLE BEACH IN THE EVENT THE WX REQUIRED IFR FOR THE RETURN FLT. WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT MYRTLE BEACH, THE PLT DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD REMAIN OVERNIGHT. AFTER VISITING SOME NIGHT SPOTS AND DOING SOME DRINKING, THE TWO BECAME SEPARATED AND WENT THEIR OWN WAY. THE PLT DECIDED TO RETURN TO CHAPEL HILL. HE FLEW THE ROUTE AT 8,500 FEET. ARRIVING NEAR HIS DESTINATION, HE CONTACTED RALEIGH/DURHAM (RDU) APCH CONT AND WAS CLEARED TO DESCEND AT PLT'S DISCRETION, BUT WAS TOLD TO MAINTAIN VFR. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TREES IN INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN A HIGH SPEED DESCENT. INDEPENDENTLY CONDUCTED TOXICOLOGY TESTS INDICATED BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVELS OF 0.10% AND 0.071%. ON THE PILOT'S APPLICATION FOR A MEDICAL CERTIFICATE HE HAD DENIED ANY RECORD OF TRAFFIC CONVICTIONS OR EXCESSIVE DRINKING HABITS. DURING THE INVESTIGATION IT WAS LEARNED THAT THE PILOT HAD BEEN CONVICTED FOR DWI IN JUNE 1987 AND HAD HAD HIS DRIVER LICENSE SUSPENDED FOR 1 YEAR IN JANUARY 1988.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.