ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 13795
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| Date: | Thursday 1 July 1965 |
| Time: | 16:06 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-32 |
| Owner/operator: | Piper Aircraft |
| Registration: | N9998W |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Vero Beach, Florida -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | Vero Beach Municipal Airport (VRB/KVRB) |
| Vero Beach Municipal Airport (VRB/KVRB) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The prototype of the PA-32 “Cherokee Six” (N9999W) was flown for the first time on 6 December 1963, followed by the first production model (N9998W) on 17 September 1964. FAA Type Approval was received on 4 March 1965. N9998W was written off on 1 July 1965 when it crashed at Vero Beach, Florida, due to pilot incapacitation during the initial climb out phase from Vero Beach Municipal Airport. The aircraft caught fire upon or very soon after impact with the ground.
The autopsy conducted by Dr. H.L. Schofield and Dr. W.A. Wirth, revealed that the pilot, Charles Wellmaker, a 33-year-old test pilot for Piper Aircraft, probably suffered a heat attack (complete occlusion of the right coronary artery) during the takeoff climb. This induced a series of events (which are not explained) that led to the crash.
Accident investigation:
|
Sources:
1. NTSB, Autopsy report Office of the Medical Examiner, Case No. A-69-65
2. NTSB Identification: MIA66A0001 at https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=74586&key=0&queryId=9f8a3da7-16b7-4c9b-9ddb-61d2bfb4a0bc&pgno=10&pgsize=200
3. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=9998W
4. http://www.skytamer.com/Piper_PA-32-300.html
5. http://planecrashmap.com/plane/fl/N9998W/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Feb-2008 12:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 08-May-2013 00:02 | wam18jr | Updated [Phase, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 06-Sep-2016 17:02 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 06-Sep-2016 17:03 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 21-Sep-2017 12:58 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Destination airport, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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