Piper PA-28-180 N15331

Summary

On 12 October 1997 at about 00:51 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N15331 was involved in an accident near Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 October 1997 at 00:51

Classification

Accident

Location

Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Knoxville Downtown Island (DKX)

Coordinates

35.9105, -83.8709

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N15331

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Lafayette

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

MIA98FA010

3 people died.

failure of the pilot to maintain control of the airplane, while climbing after takeoff, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent and impact with the water.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane and its occupants had arrived earlier in the day to attend a football game. According to airport personnel, the three occupants arrived back at the airport, after the game, about 2030, and after the control tower had closed. The control tower was staffed 2 hours before and after the football game. The pilot had line service personnel put 24 gallons of fuel in the airplane, and according to the line service manager, this 'filled the tanks.' The airplane was seen by several witnesses climbing in a westerly direction, about 200 feet above the ground (AGL), in a nose-high attitude with the lights on. There were indications that the airplane may have stalled. Witnesses said the wings were rocking, then the airplane turned left, went into a nose-low attitude, and impacted the water. Several witnesses said the airplane's engine was 'revving' and sounded 'loud,' before impacting the water. One witness said the engine sounded like it was at 'full power.' Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preimpact discrepancies. A postmortem examination of the pilot indicated that he died as a result of 'multiple blunt force injuries,' but that he had severe coronary artery disease, including 'occlusion of left main coronary artery,' '70% stenosis' of his left anterior descending artery, and '90% stenosis' of his left circumflex artery.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.