Piper PA-28R-200 N5005S
18 October 1989 · Athens, Tennessee, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 18 October 1989 at about 23:02 local time, a Piper PA-28R-200 registered N5005S, operated by Delta Plus, Inc, was involved in an accident near Athens, Tennessee, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 23:02
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Athens, Tennessee, United States
- Coordinates
- 35.4494, -84.5990
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28R-200
- Registration
- N5005S
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Delta Plus, Inc
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Morristown → Cleveland
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- IMC
- Light
- Dusk
- NTSB number
- MIA90FA014
People
2 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE IN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT CONDITIONS DUE TO SPATIAL DISORIENTATION, WHICH RESULTED IN AN INADVERTENT DESCENDING SPIRAL. LACK OF TOTAL EXPERIENCE IN THE TYPE OF OPERATION (ACTUAL INSTRUMENT CONDITIONS) WAS CONSIDERED TO BE A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
DRG AN IFR FLT AT 8000' MSL IN IMC CONDS, THE PLT WAS CLEARED BY ATC TO DSCND & MAINT 4000'. HE ACKNOWLEGED. APRX 2 MIN LATER, HE WAS ADZD THAT RADAR SVC WAS TERMINATED & WAS TOLD TO CONTACT APCH CONTROL ON ANOTHER FREQ. THE PLT'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENT WAS UNINTELLIGIBLE. SUBSEQUENTLY, CONTACT WITH THE ACFT WAS LOST & IT CRASHED IN A STEEP DSCNT. BEFORE THE ACDNT, A WITNESS HEARD THE ACFT CIRCLING OVERHEAD. INITIALLY, HE WAS UNABLE TO SEE THE ACFT DUE TO CLOUDS, THEN HE SAW THE ACFT COME OUT OF THE CLOUDS IN A STEEP DIVE. HE SAID THE NOSE OF THE ACFT APPEARED TO PULL UP JUST BEFORE IMPACT. RADAR DATA SHOWED THAT THE ACFT WAS IN A SPIRALING DSCNT BEFORE IT CRASHED. THE PLT HAD JUST RCVD AN INSTRUMENT RATING ON 9/20/89. THIS WAS HIS 1ST KNOWN FLT IN ACTUAL INSTRUMENT CONDS SINCE HE HAD RCVD HIS NEW RATING. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT WAS FOUND, ALTHOUGH IT WAS BADLY DAMAGED BY IMPACT.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-28R accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 May 1989 | Piper PA-28R-200 | Edmond, Oklahoma, United States | James, Rodney C. | No injuries | - |
| 3 Aug 1989 | Piper PA-28R-201 | Mattituck, New York, United States | Fred Bollenbach | No injuries | - |
| 1 Jul 1989 | Piper PA-28R | Port Aransas, Texas, United States | McKinley, Paul | No injuries | - |
| 12 Feb 1989 | Piper PA-28R-201 | Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States | Plodzien, Thomas J. | No injuries | - |
| 31 Jul 1989 | Piper PA-28R-201T | College Park, Maryland, United States | Archer Assoc. Inc | Fatal | 4 |
| 28 May 1989 | Piper PA-28R-200 | Angel Fire, New Mexico, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
All 1,342 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jun 1989 | Cessna 152 | Jackson, Tennessee, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 17 Jun 1989 | Cessna 150M | Knoxville, Tennessee, United States | L. J. Morse | Minor injuries | - |
| 10 Aug 1989 | Cessna 210C | Millington, Tennessee, United States | Howard A. Daniels | Minor injuries | - |
| 27 Aug 1989 | Beechcraft A23-19 | Gallatin, Tennessee, United States | Shirley Brown | Serious injuries | - |
| 22 Sep 1989 | Piper PA-28-181 | Cleveland, Tennessee, United States | Cleveland Aero Club, Inc | Serious injuries | - |
| 12 May 1989 | Bell 47 | Shelbyville, Tennessee, United States | L. Lanier | No injuries | - |