Piper PA-28-180 N3988R

Summary

On 23 November 2000 at about 09:15 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N3988R was involved in an accident near Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 November 2000 at 09:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Stillwater Municipal (SWO)

Coordinates

36.0803, -97.0708

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N3988R

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hays → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

FTW01FA024

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance from terrain while performing an instrument approach. Contributing factors were the low ceiling, dark night light condition, the pilot's decision to fly in known adverse weather conditions, and his lack of an instrument rating.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The non-instrument rated private pilot obtained a weather briefing indicating that instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the destination airport. He filed an instrument flight rules flight plan and departed on the dark night cross-country flight. The pilot executed a missed approach on the first attempt to land at the destination airport. During the second approach, the airplane impacted terrain approximately 1/2 mile short of the runway threshold. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical discrepancies that would have prevented normal operation. The pilot had accumulated 818 hours of flight time, of which 13.4 hours were in actual or simulated instrument conditions. Around the time of the accident, the weather conditions at the airport included an overcast ceiling at 300 feet agl and a visibility of 4 statute miles in light rain and mist.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.