Piper PA-31 N546BA
5 January 1982 · Ithaca, New York, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 5 January 1982 at about 12:49 local time, a Piper PA-31 registered N546BA, operated by Empire Airlines, was involved in an accident near Ithaca, New York, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.
The record
- Date
- at 12:49
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Ithaca, New York, United States
- Nearest airport
- Tompkins County
- Coordinates
- Not recorded
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31
- Registration
- N546BA
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Empire Airlines
- Operating rule
- Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Utica → Washington
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- DCA82AA009
People
2 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.
Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.
Read the full NTSB narrative
THE ACFT WAS ON A SCHEDULED COMMUTER FLT FROM UTICA, NY TO WASHINGTON, DC WITH A STOP AT ITHACA, NY. THE EN ROUTE PORTION OF THE FLT FROM UTICA TO ITHACA WAS NORMAL. AT 0735 EST, THE ACFT WAS AT 6000 FT MSL WHEN APCH CONTROL INFORMED THE AIRCREW TO EXPECT AN ILS APCH TO RWY 32 AT ITHACA. AT 0739, AN EMERG WAS DECLARED CONCERNING A SPLIT FLAP COND WITH 1 FLAP DWN. DRG THE NEXT 5 MIN, THE CREW RETAINED CONTROL OF THE ACFT WHILE DSCNDG FROM APRX 2500 TO 1900 FT. AT 0744:40, THE CREW RPRTD ON THE LOCALIZER COURSE AT 9 MI FROM THE ARPT, THEN RPRTD MAINTAINING CONTROL WITH FULL RGT AILERON. SHORTLY AFTER RPRTG THE GND IN SIGHT, THE PLANE CRASHED & BURNED IN A WOODED AREA, 6.7 MI FROM THE ARPT. IT DESCENDED THRU THE TREES IN AN 80 TO 90 DEG L BANK, APRX 24 DEG NOSE DWN. FND R FLAP 34 DEG DWN & L FLAP UP. THE INBOARDFEMALE SPLINE COMPONENT OF THE L FLAP FLEX CABLE WAS WORN & THE MALE FITTING WOULD ROTATE WITHIN. CAR 3.339 REQD A MECHANICAL FLAP INTERCONNECT WHEN ACFT CAN NOT BE CONTROLLED W SPLIT FLAPS. MOD LOW ALT TURBC & LOW LVL WND SHEAR ENCTRD
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-31 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Jun 1982 | Piper PA-31-325 | Asheboro, North Carolina, United States | Clarence Roberts/Roberts Avia. | No injuries | - |
| 23 Nov 1982 | Piper PA-31-350 | Richmond, Virginia, United States | Mid South Airlines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 30 Apr 1982 | Piper PA-31-350 | Enterprise, Alabama, United States | Huntsville Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 2 Sep 1982 | Piper PA-31-350 | Near Lakeland, Florida, United States | Piper Aircraft Corporation | Fatal | 2 |
| 1 Apr 1982 | Piper PA-31-350 | Miami, Florida, United States | Finair | No injuries | - |
| 14 Nov 1982 | Piper PA-31-310 | Spencer, Virginia, United States | 7 C's Transportation, Inc. | Fatal | 8 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Jan 1982 | Piper PA-22 | Lake Placid, New York, United States | Paul Lautenschuetz | Minor injuries | - |
| 26 May 1982 | Piper PA-22-160 | Red Hook, New York, United States | Herbert Wilson | No injuries | - |
| 11 Aug 1982 | De Havilland DH-114 | Sidney, New York, United States | Ford-Aire, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 4 Jun 1982 | Cessna 152 | Elma, New York, United States | Buffalo Air Park, Inc. | Fatal | 1 |
| 28 Aug 1982 | Schweizer 2-33A | Elmira, New York, United States | Harris Hill Soaring | No injuries | - |
| 10 Oct 1982 | Globe SWIFT GC-1B | Elmira, New York, United States | Roland J. Zavada | No injuries | - |