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Aircraft Incident/Accident Report


Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts 02568
Friday, July 16, 1999 21:41 EDT

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NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The noninstrument-rated pilot obtained weather forecasts for a cross-country flight, which indicated visual flight rules (VFR) conditions with clear skies and visibilities that varied between 4 to 10 miles along his intended route. The pilot then departed on a dark night. According to a performance study of radar data, the airplane proceeded over land at 5,500 feet. About 34 miles west of Martha's Vineyard Airport, while crossing a 30-mile stretch of water to its destination, the airplane began a descent that varied between 400 to 800 feet per minute (fpm). About 7 miles from the approaching shore, the airplane began a right turn. The airplane stopped its descent at 2,200 feet, then climbed back to 2,600 feet and entered a left turn. While in the left turn, the airplane began another descent that reached about 900 fpm. While still in the descent, the airplane entered a right turn. During this turn, the airplane's rate of descent and airspeed increased. The airplane's rate of descent eventually exceeded 4,700 fpm, and the airplane struck the water in a nose-down attitude. Airports along the coast reported visibilities between 5 and 8 miles. Other pilots flying similar routes on the night of the accident reported no visual horizon while flying over the water because of haze. The pilot's estimated total flight experience was about 310 hours, of which 55 hours were at night. The pilot's estimated flight time in the accident airplane was about 36 hours, of which about 9.4 hours were at night. About 3 hours of that time was without a certified flight instructor (CFI) on board, and about 0.8 hour of that was flown at night and included a night landing. In the 15 months before the accident, the pilot had flown either to or from the destination area about 35 times. The pilot flew at least 17 of these flight legs without a CFI on board, of which 5 were at night. Within 100 days before the accident, the pilot had completed about 50 percent of a formal instrument training course. A Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular (AC) 61-27C, "Instrument Flying: Coping with Illusions in Flight," states that illusions or false impressions occur when information provided by sensory organs is misinterpreted or inadequate and that many illusions in flight could be caused by complex motions and certain visual scenes encountered under adverse weather conditions and at night. The AC also states that some illusions might lead to spatial disorientation or the inability to determine accurately the attitude or motion of the aircraft in relation to the earth's surface. The AC further states that spatial disorientation, as a result of continued VFR flight into adverse weather conditions, is regularly near the top of the cause/factor list in annual statistics on fatal aircraft accidents. According to AC 60-4A, "Pilot's Spatial Disorientation," tests conducted with qualified instrument pilots indicated that it can take as long as 35 seconds to establish full control by instruments after a loss of visual reference of the earth's surface. AC 60-4A further states that surface references and the natural horizon may become obscured even though visibility may be above VFR minimums and that an inability to perceive the natural horizon or surface references is common during flights over water, at night, in sparsely populated areas, and in low-visibility conditions. Examination of the airframe, systems, avionics, and engine did not reveal any evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during a descent over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation. Factors in the accident were haze, and the dark night.
Event Information
Type of EventAccident 
Event Date7/16/1999 
Event Day of the WeekFriday 
Time of Event2141 
Event Time ZoneEastern Daylight Time 
Event CityVINEYARD HAVEN  
Event StateMASSACHUSETTS 
Event Country-- 
Zipcode of the event site02568  
Event Date Year1999 
Event Date Month7 
MidAir Collision IndicatorNo 
On Ground Collision occurred ?No 
Event Location Latitude-- 
Event Location Longitude-- 
Event Location Airport  
Event Location Nearest Airport ID  
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airportOff Airport/Airstrip 
Distance from airport in statute miles-- 
Degrees magnetic from airport-- 
Airport Elevation-- 
Weather Briefing CompletenessPartial - limited by pilot 
Investigator's weather sourceWeather Observation Facility 
Time of the weather observation2153 Eastern Daylight Time 
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees)95 
Weather Observation Facility IDMVY  
Elevation of weather observation facility68 
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?)15 
Time Zone of the weather observationEDT 
Lighting ConditionsNight/Dark 
Lowest Ceiling Height0 
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height0 
Sky/Lowest/Cloud ConditionsClear 
Sky Condition for Lowest CeilingNone 
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet)0 
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles)0 
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10 
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius)75 
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit)64 
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic)240 
Variable Wind IndicatorUnknown 
Wind Speed (knots)10 
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown 
Wind Gust IndicatorUnknown 
Wind Gust (knots) 15 
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30 
Density Altitude (feet)-- 
Intensity of PrecipitationUnknown 
METAR weather report -- 
Event Highest InjuryFatal 
On Ground, Fatal Injuries0 
On Ground, Minor Injuries0 
On Ground, Serious Injuries0 
Injury Total Fatal3 
Injury Total Minor-- 
Injury Total None-- 
Injury Total Serious-- 
Injury Total All3 
Investigating AgencyNTSB 
NTSB Docket Number (internal use)1349 
NTSB Notification Source-- 
NTSB Notification DateJul 17 1999 12:00AM 
NTSB Notification Time445 
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket informationIMAGE 
Date of most recent change to recordJul 25 2001 4:45AM 
User who most recently changed recorddbo  
Basic weather conditionsVisual Meteorological Cond 
FAA District Office-- 
Aircraft Involved
Aircraft #1
Aircraft Registration NumberN9253N 
NTSB NumberNYC99MA178  
Missing Aircraft IndicatorN 
Federal Aviation Reg. PartPart 91: General Aviation 
Type of Flight Plan filedNone 
Flight plan Was Activated?-- 
DamageDestroyed 
Aircraft FireNone 
Aircraft ExplosionNone 
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full NamePiper  
Aircraft ModelPA-32R-301  
Aircraft Series IdentifierPA-32R-301 
Aircraft Serial Number32-13100  
Certified Max Gross Weight3600 
Aircraft CategoryAirplane 
Aircraft Registration ClassU.S. Registered/U.S. Soil 
Aircraft is a homebuilt?No 
Flight Crew Seats-- 
Cabin Crew Seats-- 
Passenger Seats-- 
Total number of seats on the aircraft6 
Number of Engines1 
Fixed gear or retractable gearRetractable 
Aircraft, Type of Last InspectionAnnual 
Date of Last InspectionJun 25 1999 12:00AM 
Airframe hours since last inspection41 
Airframe Hours664 
ELT InstalledYes 
ELT ActivatedUnknown 
ELT Aided Location of Event SiteUnknown 
ELT Type-- 
Aircraft Owner NameJOHN F. KENNEDY JR.  
Aircraft Owner Street Address1633 BROADWAY  
Aircraft Owner CityNEW YORK  
Aircraft Owner StateNY 
Aircraft Owner Country  
Aircraft Owner Zipcode10019  
Operator is an individual?-- 
Operator Name  
Operator Same as Owner?Yes 
Operator Is Doing Business As-- 
Operator Address Same as Owner?Yes 
Operator Street Address  
Operator City  
Operator State  
Operator Country  
Operator Zip code  
Operator Code  
Owner has at least one certificateNone 
Other Operator of large aircraft?No 
Certified for Part 133 or 137 OperationUnknown 
Operator Certificate Number-- 
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not-- 
Indicates Domestic or International Flight-- 
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail-- 
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary)Personal 
Second Pilot on BoardNo 
Departure Point Same as EventNo 
Departure Airport CodeCDW  
Departure CityCALDWELL  
Departure StateNJ 
Departure Country  
Departure Time2039 
Departure Time ZoneEDT 
Destination Same as Local Fltcrash at destination city 
Destination Airport CodeMVY  
Destination City  
Destination StateMA 
Destination Country  
Specific Phase of FlightDescent 
Report sent to ICAO?-- 
Evacuation occurred-- 
Date of most recent change to recordJul 25 2001 4:05AM 
User who most recently changed recorddbo  
Since inspection or accident-- 
Event Location Runway Number and Location0  
Runway Length-- 
Runway Width-- 
Sight Seeing flightNo 
Air Medical FlightNo 
Medical Flight-- 

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