ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 35582
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Date: | Friday 4 December 1998 |
Time: | 20:45 |
Type: | Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain |
Owner/operator: | L & W Flying Service |
Registration: | N59902 |
MSN: | 31-7652125 |
Year of manufacture: | 1976 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan -
United States of America
|
Phase: | Approach |
Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
Departure airport: | Capital Region International Airport, Lansing, Michigan (LAN/KLAN) |
Destination airport: | Pontiac/Oakland County International Airport, Pontiac, Michigan (PTK/K |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:On December 4, 1998, at 20:45 EST (Eastern Standard Time), a Piper PA-31-350, N59902, piloted by an airline transport pilot, was destroyed during a collision with trees, and a subsequent impact with the ground and a post-impact fire. The airplane was flying an instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 09R at the Pontiac/Oakland County International Airport, Pontiac, Michigan. The positioning flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, and was operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The pilot was fatally injured. The flight departed Lansing, Michigan, exact time unknown.
The pilot of N59902 contacted the Pontiac /Oakland county International Airport's air traffic control tower local controller (local control) at 20:44.08 EST. At that time the pilot said his airplane was "...established on the ILS." The local controller advised the pilot of the altimeter setting and advised the pilot that "...several aircraft have reported they can see the approach lights but it's real tough finding the runway lights." At 20:44.34 EST the pilot said he would "...check it out for [the local controller]." The local controller gave N59902's pilot the runway wind conditions at 20:44.36 EST. The pilot's last transmission was, "Roger that nine oh two." This transmission was made at 20:44.42 EST.
At 20:48.13 EST the local controller asked N59902's pilot, "Navajo niner zero two you on the ground safely." There were no other transmissions from the pilot of N59902.
A witness near the accident site said he heard airplanes "...coming in for... landing, heading east." He said he heard one airplane coming closer and "...heard it hit something... the engine continued to run with a whop, whop, whop sound, as if the propeller struck something. This sound continued for about 3-5 seconds then the plane crashed with a bright orange glow lighting up the sky." A second witness confirmed this witness' statement. Other witnesses observed the airplane flying a curved flight path before impacting the ground.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: the pilot's descent below the decision height for the instrument approach
Registration N59902 cancelled by the FAA on April 10, 2000
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: CHI99FA047 at
https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20001211X11519&ntsbno=CHI99FA047&akey=1 2. FAA:
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=59902 3.
http://planecrashmap.com/plane/mi/N59902/ 4.
http://www.city-data.com/wildlife/Quad-City-International-Airport-Moline-Illinois.html 5. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.baaa-acro.com/1998/archives/crash-of-a-piper-pa-31-navajo-chieftain-in-pontiac-1-killed/]
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
24-Oct-2008 10:30 |
ASN archive |
Added |
25-Jun-2015 14:51 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
21-Dec-2016 19:22 |
ASN Update Bot |
Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
15-Oct-2017 18:14 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
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