Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Palatine, New York 13428
Saturday, July 24, 1999 16:53 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

One witness stated that he saw the airplane fly overhead, and enter a 'sharp' left turn, followed by a left 'tailspin.' Another witness stated the airplane '...made a sharp turn and went straight down.' A third witness stated that he observed the airplane make two complete circles, described as 'loopty loop(s),' but he did not specify a direction. The witness further stated that during the third circle, the airplane was too low to recover. The owner of the airplane stated that the pilot's brother lived near the accident site. He believed she may have been circling her brother's house. The owner further stated that the airplane was not equipped with a stall warning system. Toxicological testing of the pilot was conducted at the FAA Toxicology Accident Research Laboratory. According to the toxicology report, 0.187 (ug/ml, ug/g) of cocaine was detected in the blood.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot was impaired by an illegal drug, and entered an inadvertent stall/spin.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/24/1999
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1653
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City PALATINE
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 13428
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 7
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 1645 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 100
Weather Observation Facility ID SCH
Elevation of weather observation facility 378
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
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) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
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) 939
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 24 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1900
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:45AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8937C
NTSB Number NYC99FA181
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA 22-135
Aircraft Series Identifier PA 22-135
Aircraft Serial Number 22-1536
Certified Max Gross Weight 1950
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 Jun 25 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 6
Airframe Hours 3247
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DANA VAN LOAN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 236 FARLEY ROAD
Aircraft Owner City FORT PLAIN
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 13339
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 NY27
Departure City JOHNSTOWN
Departure State NY
Departure Country
Departure Time 1630
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code NONE
Destination City FORT PLAIN
Destination State NY
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
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 --