Piper PA-28-180 N15978

Summary

On 26 June 1987 at about 17:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N15978, operated by R. W. MC Duffie, was involved in an accident near Jesup, Georgia, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

26 June 1987 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Jesup, Georgia, United States

Coordinates

31.6607, -81.9301

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N15978

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

R. W. MC Duffie

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Jesup → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL87FA189

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

WITNESSES RPRTD THE ACFT 'BUZZED' (FLEW LOW) OVER A FACTORY, WHERE THE PLT USED TO WORK, THEN IT WENT OVER THE ALTAMAHA RIVER, FLEW UNDER A BRIDGE & CONTINUED UP THE RIVER AT LOW ALT. ABOUT 2 TO 3 MI UPSTREAM, THE ACFT WAS MANEUVERING WHEN IT STRUCK TREES & CRASHED IN THE RIVER. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FND. TOXICOLOGY TESTS SHOWED THAT THE PLT & 2 OF THE PAX'S HAD ALCOHOL IN THEIR BLOOD. A CHECK OF THE 3RD PAX'S BLOOD WAS INCONCLUSIVE. THE PLT'S BLOOD TESTED 0.13% (0.13 GM%) FOR ALCOHOL. HIS MED CERT WAS DATED 8/29/83. HIS LOG BOOK WAS NOT FND, BUT OTHER RECORDS INDCD HE HAD APRX 400 HRS TOTAL TIME WITH 250 HRS IN PA-28 ACFT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.