Plane Crash List

Piper PA-23 N65SC

14 October 1995 · Beckley, West Virginia, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 14 October 1995 at about 00:10 local time, a Piper PA-23 registered N65SC, operated by Dench, Edward, was involved in an incident near Beckley, West Virginia, United States. 4 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 00:10
Classification
Incident
Location
Beckley, West Virginia, United States
Coordinates
Not recorded
Aircraft
Piper PA-23
Registration
N65SC
Category
Airplane
Engines
2
Operator
Dench, Edward
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
York → Unknown
Aircraft damage
Minor
Weather
IMC
Light
Night/Dark
NTSB number
BFO96IA012

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
4 0 0 0 4

Probable cause

an in-flight fire (behind the right side of the instrument panel), which occurred for undetermined reason(s).

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that the airplane was in level flight, at night, in clouds and light rain, when he saw a '...sudden flash (spark)...' followed by fire from behind the instrument panel on the right side of the cockpit. The pilot reported that he turned the master switch off in an attempt to eliminate the source of the fire. He stated that the cabin filled with smoke, but the fire gradually '...went out, mostly on it's own...' He made an uneventful landing at Beckley, WV. Maintenance personnel reported that fire damage precluded a positive determination of the source of the fire.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Piper PA-23 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
16 Feb 1995 Piper PA-23-250
N62711
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States AB Flight Services No injuries -
2 Apr 1995 Piper PA-23-250
N346PB
Venice, Florida, United States - No injuries -
17 Nov 1995 Piper PA-23-160
N3283P
Tipejuanes, Mexico
no coordinates
Raymond E. Burch No injuries -
11 Nov 1995 Piper PA-23-250
N62620
Ashville, New York, United States - Fatal 1
5 Jun 1995 Piper PA-23-160
N4187P
Palestine, Texas, United States - Fatal 3
31 Oct 1995 Piper PA-23-250
N250HP
Isbela Segunda
no coordinates
- Fatal 4

All 1,716 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
30 Aug 1995 Cessna 152
N68969
Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States - Minor injuries -
28 Nov 1995 Cessna 414
N28901
Marlinton, West Virginia, United States - Fatal 1
4 Mar 1995 Fokker F28-4000
N479AU
Huntington, West Virginia, United States - No injuries -
27 May 1995 Cessna 172N
N5085G
Weston, West Virginia, United States - Fatal 2
25 Jul 1996 Cessna 150L
N21953
Philippi, West Virginia, United States - Fatal 1
11 Mar 1996 Piper PA-23-250
N222WR
Bridgeport, West Virginia, United States - Fatal 1

All 170,864 records in United States