ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 40315
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Date: | Thursday 7 April 1994 |
Time: | 08:10 |
Type: | Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain |
Owner/operator: | Augusta Aviation |
Registration: | N64LB |
MSN: | 31-7852127 |
Total airframe hrs: | 2910 hours |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | Holston Mountain, 5 miles NE of Elizabethton Airport, Elizabethton, TN -
United States of America
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
Departure airport: | Augusta, Georgia (DNL/KDNL) |
Destination airport: | Elizabethton Municipal Airport, Elizabethton, Tennessee (0A9) |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:On April 7, 1994, at 08:10 eastern daylight time (EDT), a Piper PA-31-350, N64LB, collided with mountainous terrain near Elizabethton, Tennessee. The aircraft was destroyed. The airline transport pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. The aircraft was operated under 14 CFR Part 91 by Augusta Aviation, Inc., of Augusta, Georgia. Instrument meteorological conditions existed at the time, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the positioning flight to Elizabethton. The flight originated in Augusta at 06:50 EDT.
According to the operator, the purpose of the flight was to pick up a patient at the Elizabethton Airport, so that he could be transported to a Veterans Administration hospital in Augusta for treatment. On the evening prior to the accident flight, a man, who identified himself as the pilot of N64LB, called the Macon Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), and filed an IFR flight plan from Augusta to Elizabethton. He also obtained a weather briefing for the flight.
At 04:51 EDT, on the morning of the accident flight, he again phoned the Macon AFSS, and obtained an updated weather briefing for the flight to Elizabethton. The operator reported that the departure time of the accident flight was 06:50 EDT.
At 07:58 EDT, the pilot of N64LB made initial contact with Tri- City Approach. N64LB was told to expect a lower altitude in five miles, and to expect a visual approach to Elizabethton Airport. At 08:06 EDT, N64LB was issued a descent to 5,400 feet, and was advised of cloud top and icing information. At 08:07 EDT, the Elizabethton Airport was pointed out to N64LB as being at his ten to eleven o'clock position, for 3 miles.
The pilot of N64LB then advised the controller that the Elizabethton Airport was in sight, and at 0807, he cancelled his IFR flight plan. No subsequent radio calls were received from N64LB, and no distress calls were reported by any other facility.
When the flight did not arrive, a search for the aircraft was initiated. The Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) radar tracked N64LB until 0806:46, when the aircraft was descending through 7,300 feet msl. No recorded radar data was available for the final minutes of the flight. The wreckage was located about 200 feet below the crest of Holston Mountain, about 1/2 mile east of the Holston Mountain VOR. The wreckage path was oriented in an uphill direction, on a magnetic heading of about 020 degrees.
A swath was observed in the trees during the initial portion of the wreckage pattern; the inclination of the swath matched an 8 degree climb angle. The initial impact area consisted of numerous broken tree tops and several fallen trees. Several tree limbs exhibited smooth cuts on their surfaces. The trees had fallen in the direction of the wreckage path. The wreckage path measured approximately 220 feet in length, and 65 feet in width. The right engine, with its propeller assembly attached, was found about 220 feet uphill from the initial impact area.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
THE PILOT'S ATTEMPTED VFR FLIGHT INTO IMC CONDITIONS, AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A PROPER ALTITUDE OVER MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. FACTORS WERE THE CLOUDS AND OBSCURATION AT THE ACCIDENT SITE.
Registration N64LB cancelled by the FAA on March 10, 1997 as "Destroyed"
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: ATL94FA076 at
https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20001206X01022&ntsbno=ATL94FA076&akey=1 2. FAA:
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=64LB 3.
http://planecrashmap.com/plane/tn/N64LB/ 4. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.baaa-acro.com/1994/archives/crash-of-a-piper-pa-31-navajo-chieftain-in-elizabethton-2-killed/]
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
24-Oct-2008 10:30 |
ASN archive |
Added |
21-Jun-2015 22:14 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
21-Dec-2016 19:23 |
ASN Update Bot |
Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
11-Oct-2017 00:58 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative] |
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