Piper 601P N60721

Summary

On 10 June 1998 at about 17:04 local time, a Piper 601P registered N60721, operated by Daniel A. Burwell, was involved in an accident near Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, 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

10 June 1998 at 17:04

Classification

Accident

Location

Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Altoona-Blair County (AOO)

Coordinates

40.3110, -78.3193

Aircraft

Piper 601P

Registration

N60721

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Daniel A. Burwell

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Syracuse

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC98FA127

3 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed due to spatial disorientation, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent collision with terrain. A factor in the accident was the low ceiling.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Shortly after the airplane took off, a witness about 1 mile from the airport observed the airplane about 150 feet above the ground in a left turn, before it disappeared into the clouds. A witness across from where the airplane crashed stated he was in his shed when he heard the sound of an airplane overhead. When the sound faded and returned, like the airplane had circled above the shed, he stepped outside and looked for the airplane. He saw the airplane exit the clouds in a near vertical position and impact the ground. He described the engine noise as loud and smooth. The airplane impacted in a field about 3/4 miles from the departure airport and was consumed by a post crash fire. Streaks of oil were observed on the leading edge of the right horizontal stabilizer extending to its upper and lower surfaces. Disassembly of both engines did not reveal any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions. A weather observation taken after the accident reported included a visibility of 2 miles with light drizzle and mist, and the ceiling was 400 foot overcast. Witnesses described the weather at the accident site as '...pretty foggy,' and worse than the conditions reported at the airport.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.