Piper PA-28-151 N33521

Summary

On 29 March 2007 at about 00:05 local time, a Piper PA-28-151 registered N33521 was involved in an accident near Howell, New Jersey, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 March 2007 at 00:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Howell, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Monmouth Executive Airport (BLM)

Coordinates

40.1275, -74.1533

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-151

Registration

N33521

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Farmingdale → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

NYC07FA088

1 person died.

The pilot's improper decision to attempt a flight with known serious medical conditions, which resulted in impairment during cruise flight, likely due to a stroke or transient ischemic attack. A factor was the pilot providing false information on his medical application.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was conducting a local flight in good weather, when he radioed air traffic control (ATC), to request a vector to his home airport. At the time, the airplane was about 10 miles southwest of the home airport, heading away from the airport, and the pilot was lost and disoriented. The controller provided the pilot with a position report and a vector to the pilot's airport; however, the pilot subsequently flew erratically at low altitudes and did not respond to calls by ATC several times. The airplane then impacted a wooded area. The pilot had a history of multiple severe medical conditions, and was at high risk for a stroke, having had a previous transient ischemic attack (TIA) (mini-stroke). A TIA or stroke could reasonably account for the pilot's disorientation and confusion just prior to the accident. Although the autopsy did not discover any evidence of stroke, such evidence would only be seen if the pilot had a completed stroke and lived long enough for changes in the brain to become apparent (usually several hours at the least). It is most likely that the pilot's disorientation and confusion immediately prior to the accident were consistent with a stroke or a transient ischemic attack. None of the pilot's severe medical conditions or the medications he was taking was reported to the FAA during the pilot's most recent application for a third class medical certificate. Had they been reported, the certificate would have been denied. The pilot's personal physician believed that the pilot had not been flying as a pilot for at least 5 years. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.