Piper PA-23-250 N54839

Summary

On 18 March 1996 at about 06:00 local time, a Piper PA-23-250 registered N54839 was involved in an accident near Marion, Virginia, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 March 1996 at 06:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Marion, Virginia, United States

Coordinates

36.8297, -81.5105

Aircraft

Piper PA-23-250

Registration

N54839

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wise → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Dawn

NTSB number

IAD96FA050

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance during the instrument approach (FAF/Outer Marker to Threshold IFR), which resulted in the in-flight collision with trees. A related factor was the foggy weather conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot told ATC that he saw the runway (runway 26) during the first localizer approach, but the airplane was too fast to make the landing, so he missed the approach. The pilot was cleared for the second localizer approach to the destination airport at 0048. At approximately 0100, the airplane struck a 100-foot tall tree, and collided with terrain about 1 mile east of the airport. The airport elevation is 2559 feet, and the published minimum descent altitude for the airport was 3020 feet msl, with 1 mile visibility. The reported visibility at the destination airport was 1/4 mile in fog. The localizer approach was test flown by the FAA the day after the accident and it operated satisfactory.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.