Piper PA-28-235 N8683W

Summary

On 9 May 2014 at about 02:50 local time, a Piper PA-28-235 registered N8683W, operated by Papweb Corp, was involved in an accident near Brooksville, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 May 2014 at 02:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Brooksville, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Hernando County (BKV)

Coordinates

28.4736, -82.4556

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-235

Registration

N8683W

Category

Airplane

Year built

1964

Engines

1

Operator

Papweb Corp

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Inverness → Brooksville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA14LA244

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s loss of directional control while landing at night, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with airport signage. Contributing to the accident was the total loss of electrical power, which necessitated the pilot having to land without the aid of the airplane’s landing lights and some of the available runway lighting.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the flight departed about 2 hours after sunset and that, several minutes after departure, the airplane's lights began to dim. The pilot reduced the electrical load; however, within several minutes, the airplane lost all electrical power. The pilot chose to continue to the destination airport, which was located 21 nautical miles from the departure airport and was within sight. Upon reaching the airport, the pilot used the runway end identifier lights and the runway's visual approach slope indicator lights to guide the airplane to the runway threshold. Due to the lack of electrical power, he was unable to use the airplane's radio to activate the other available runway lighting or use the airplane's landing lights to help him further locate the runway after crossing the threshold. The pilot misjudged the airplane's height above the runway, and, during the landing flare from an estimated height of about 4 or 5 ft, the airplane impacted the runway. The airplane then veered right, departed the runway, struck an airport sign, and was substantially damaged. A postaccident examination revealed that the alternator had failed, which likely led to the airplane's total loss of electrical power. Review of the airplane's maintenance logs found that no maintenance related to the alternator had been documented in the airplane's 50-year and 2,600-flight-hour history. A survey of airports near the airplane's route of flight showed no continuously lighted airports located within a reasonable distance of the airplane's route.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.