Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Staley, North Carolina 27355
Saturday, March 18, 1995 16:35 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A witness stated he heard a change in engine noise from an airplane flying towards his location. He looked up and saw the airplane descending in a dive estimated at a 45-degree nose-down attitude. The airplane began at right spiraling turn at treetop level, when the nose pitched down vertically, the airplane disappeared from view below the tree line. Just before the airplane collided with the ground, the engine noise quit completely. Examination of airframe, flight controls, engine assembly and accessories revealed no evidence of a precrash failure or malfunction. Both fuel tanks were ruptured. There was no evidence of damage to the vegetation consistent with fuel spillage, and there was no odor of fuel present at the crash site.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed (VSO) while maneuvering during a forced landing, resulting in an in-flight loss of control (inadvertent stall), and subsequent in flight collision with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation to ensure there was adequate fuel available for the flight, resulting in a total loss of engine power from fuel exhaustion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/18/1995
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1635
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City STALEY
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 27355
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
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 airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1550 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 330
Weather Observation Facility ID GSO
Elevation of weather observation facility 926
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 28
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 15
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 232
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Mar 18 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1830
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:09PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7545D
NTSB Number MIA95FA089
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-22-150
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-22-150
Aircraft Serial Number 22-5276
Certified Max Gross Weight 1840
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 1 1994 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 2
Airframe Hours 2678
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name PEREIRA, RICHARD J.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 6406 CARDINAL WOOD DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City GREENSBORO
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 27410
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 certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
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 Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code GSO
Departure City GREENSBORO
Departure State NC
Departure Country
Departure Time 1619
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 5W8
Destination City SILER CITY
Destination State NC
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Descent
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --