Piper PA-31P N234LC

Summary

On 20 July 1983 at about 14:40 local time, a Piper PA-31P registered N234LC was involved in an accident near Lost Creek, West Virginia, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

20 July 1983 at 14:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Lost Creek, West Virginia, United States

Coordinates

39.1493, -80.3498

Aircraft

Piper PA-31P

Registration

N234LC

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Clarksburg → Memphis

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL83AA285

4 people died.

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 TOOK OFF WITH 4 OCCUPANTS & AN ESTIMATED 596 LBS OF CARGO ON BOARD. AFTER IT TOOK OFF, THE ATC CONTROLLER NOTED THAT IT WAS CLIMBING SLOWER THAN EXPECTED. AFTER CLIMBING TO ABOUT 4200 FT MSL, THE AIRCREW REPORTED A PROBLEM WITH THE LEFT ENG & SAID THEY DID NOT BELIEVE THEY COULD MAKE IT BACK TO THE DEPARTURE ARPT. THEY EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO CONTINUE TOWARD THE SOUTHWEST. ATC PROCEEDED TO VECTOR THEM TO THE WESTON ARPT, BUT INFORMED THEM THAT IT HAD NO INSTRUMENT APCH. AFTER THE REPORTED ENG MALFUNCTION, ATC PERSONNEL NOTED THAT THE ACFT CONTINUED IN A GRADUAL LEFT TURN. ABOUT 8 MIN AFTER TAKEOFF, RADIO CONTACT WAS LOST. A WITNESS ON THE GROUND SAW THE ACFT COME OVER A HILL WITH THE SOUND OF AN ENG AT HI POWER. AT ABOUT THAT TIME, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A POWER LINE CABLE, THEN CRASHEDINTO 2 TREES, IMPACTED THE GROUND & BURNED. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO SIGNIFICANT PREIMPACT FAILURES. THE ACFTWAS ESTIMATED TO BE APRX 400 LBS OVER ITS MAX CERTIFICATED GROSS WT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.