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| Date: | Monday 18 January 1988 |
| Time: | 15:40 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-28R-200 |
| Owner/operator: | Conservair |
| Registration: | N55WP |
| MSN: | 28R-7635356 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1976 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2536 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-360-C1C |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Barnardsville, NC -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Tuscaloosa, AL (TCL) |
| Raleigh-Durham , NC (RDU) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
THE ACFT EXPERIENCED AN IN-FLT STRUCTURAL FAILURE DURING A PERSONAL flight. JUST PRIOR TO THE BREAK-UP OF THE ACFT THE PLT MADE A MAYDAY RADIO CALL STATING 'THE TRIM IS OUT, BREAKING UP' AND RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST. THE FLT WAS ASSIGNED AN ALT OF 9000 FT BUT THE WRECKAGE DISTRIBUTION DEPICTS A BREAK UP AT 5400 FT MSL OR APRX 1500 FT AGL. A WITNESS REPORTED THE ACFT COMING OVER A MOUNTAIN RIDGE POINTED UP IN AN ALMOST VERTICAL CLIMB. A LOUD BOOM WAS HEARD AND DEBRIS BEGAN TO FALL. THE ACFT FELL NOSE DOWN. THE LAST RADIO TRANSMISSION ALSO CONTAINS THE SOUND OF A STALL WARNING HORN. ONE OF THE OWNERS OF THE ACFT STATED THAT HE FLEW THE ACFT ON 1/6/88 AND USED BOTH MANUAL AND ELEC TRIM WITH NO PROBLEMS. EVEN IN CASE OF MALFUNCTION THE PLT SHOULD BE ABLE TO OVERPOWER THE ELEC TRIM. A PLT FLYING IN THE ACC AREA AT THE SAME TIME REPORTED NO TURBULENCE. CAUSE:
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001213X24840
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:22 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency, ] |
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