Piper PA-32R-300 N4026Q
16 April 1982 · Ruidoso Muni, New Mexico, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 16 April 1982 at about 00:40 local time, a Piper PA-32R-300 registered N4026Q, operated by Curtis Lewis, was involved in an accident near Ruidoso Muni, New Mexico, United States. 4 people were on board and 3 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.
The record
- Date
- at 00:40
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Ruidoso Muni, New Mexico, United States
- Nearest airport
- Ruidoso Municipal
- Coordinates
- Not recorded
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300
- Registration
- N4026Q
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Curtis Lewis
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Business
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Ruidoso Muni → Amarillo
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- FTW82FQA16
People
3 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 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 AIRCRAFT TOOK OFF FROM RUNWAY 18 WITH 4 OCCUPANTS AND ABOUT 98 GAL OF FUEL ON BOARD. THE WIND WAS FROM 210 DEG AT 8, GUSTING 20 KTS, THE PRESSURE ALTITUDE WAS ABOUT 8900 FT AND MODERATE TURBULENCE WAS REPORTED. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE AIRCRAFT MADE A LONGER THAN NORMAL TAKEOFF ROLL AND NEVER GAINED MUCH ALTITUDE. A LEFT TURN WAS MADE JUST SOUTH OF THE RUNWAY WHILE STILL AT A VERY LOW ALTITUDE AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS UNABLE TO CLEAR THE TREES IN A WOODED AREA. ABOUT 365 FT PAST THE FIRST CONTACT WITH THE TREES, THE PLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE. A VISUAL OBSEVATION OF THE SPARK PLUGS REVEALED INDICATIONS OF A RICH MIXTURE AND THE MIXTURE CONTROL WAS FOUND IN THE FULL RICH POSITION. THE AIRPORT ELEVATION WAS 6911 FT, THE ELEVATION OF THE CRASH SITE WAS REPORTED TO BE 7133 FT IN THE VICINITY OF HILLY/MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. THE CONFIGURATION OF THE GEAR AND FLAPS AFTER LIFT-OFF WAS NOT VERIFIED.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-32R accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Mar 1982 | Piper PA-32R | Brownsville, California, United States | Steve Grimm Golden Bear Aviat | No injuries | - |
| 5 Feb 1982 | Piper PA-32R-300 | Lambsburg, Virginia, United States | Air Security Transport Corpora | Fatal | 4 |
| 29 Mar 1982 | Piper PA-32R | Rochester, Massachusetts, United States | GEN. Enterprises, Inc. | Serious injuries | - |
| 11 May 1982 | Piper PA-32R-300 | Iuka, Mississippi, United States | David Harris | Fatal | 3 |
| 26 Nov 1982 | Piper PA-32R-300 | Gustavus, Alaska, United States | Layton A . Bennett | No injuries | - |
| 23 Sep 1982 | Piper PA-32R-301T | San Gorgonio, California, United States | Douglas Kruse | Fatal | 1 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Aug 1982 | Cessna 401A | Silver City, New Mexico, United States | Flying A Flight Service Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 7 Feb 1982 | Cessna 177RG | Artesia, New Mexico, United States | Leslie A. Anderson | No injuries | - |
| 28 Dec 1982 | Cessna T210M | Reserve, New Mexico, United States | E.h. Mullins & V.n. Mullins | Fatal | 1 |
| 1 Jan 1982 | Piper PA-28-161 | Hobbs, New Mexico, United States | Marshall AVN | No injuries | - |
| 1 Feb 1982 | Cessna P206 | Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States | Walter C. White | No injuries | - |
| 24 Feb 1982 | Bell 206B | Watrous, New Mexico, United States | Doolittle Enterprises Inc. | Fatal | 1 |