Piper PA-30-160 N8556Y

Summary

On 20 August 1990 at about 03:24 local time, a Piper PA-30-160 registered N8556Y was involved in an accident near Kalispell, Montana, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 August 1990 at 03:24

Classification

Accident

Location

Kalispell, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Kalispell City (S27)

Coordinates

48.1909, -114.3796

Aircraft

Piper PA-30-160

Registration

N8556Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bremerton → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

SEA90FA165

4 people died.

FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO FLARE THE AIRCRAFT FOR LANDING AND TO MAINTAIN ITS CONTROL DURING THE ATTEMPTED GO-AROUND (ABORTED LANDING). FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARKNESS, A NUMBER OF RUNWAY EDGE LIGHTS THAT WERE EITHER INOPERATIVE OR HIDDEN BY VEGEGATION, RAIN, REDUCED VISUAL CUES, THE PILOT'S LACK OF RECENT NIGHT FLYING EXPERIENCE, AND HIS FAILURE TO ATTAIN PROPER RUNWAY ALIGNMENT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PLT MADE A VFR APCH TO LND AT NGT ON RWY 31. ACCORDING TO WITNESS(ES), THERE WAS A TSTM SOUTH OF THE ARPT, BUT AT THE ARPT, THE WND WAS LGT & ONLY LGT RAIN WAS FALLING. AS THE PLT WAS LNDG, THE ACFT IMPACTED ON THE APCH END OF THE RWY, THEN BECAME AIRBORNE & IMPACTED AGAIN, FURTHER DOWN THE RWY. AN EXAM REVEALED THAT INITIAL IMPACT WAS 29' FM THE THRESHOLD. THE INITIAL SCRAPE MARK WAS ANGLED 10 DEG RIGHT OF THE RWY HDG. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THE LEFT WING TIP CONTACTED THE RWY NR THE APCH END, THEN THE TIPS OF THE LEFT PROP BLADES STRUCK THE RWY. THE ACFT THEN BECAME AIRBORNE & CRASHED INVERTED AFTER TRAVELING ABOUT 613' DOWN THE RWY. THE BLADE TIPS OF BOTH PROPS WERE TWISTED & CURLED; THERE WERE SLASH MARKS ON THE RWY FROM BOTH PROPS AT THE 2ND IMPACT POINT, WHERE THE ACFT HAD IMPACTED IN AN INVERTED ATTITUDE. OF 62 RWY EDGE LGTS, 20 WERE INOP OR BROKEN & 2 WERE NOT VISIBLE DUE TO TALL VEGETATION. THE LAST RECORDED NGT TIME IN THE PLT'S LOG WAS DATED 5/5/81.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.