Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Westerly State Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Westerly, Rhode Island 02891
Sunday, September 5, 1999 11:53 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to a passenger, the airplane departed normally but seemed 'very shaky.' As the airplane climbed, it began to slowly turn to the right, and the pilot had a concerned look on his face as he reached up to an area where the air vents were located. The pilot then moved his right hand down to an area where the communications and navigation radios were located, and appeared to turn a dial. The pilot then immediately moved his right hand from the radio area to the yoke, gripping the yoke with both hands and turning it about 90 degrees to the left. The airplane banked to the left, descended, and impacted terrain in an open field about 200 feet beyond the departure end of the runway. Witnesses recalled hearing the airplane's engine 'operating normally,' as it departed. Rotational damage was observed on both propeller blades after the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's loss of control of the airplane during a turn.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/5/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1153 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | WESTERLY |
| Event State | RHODE ISLAND |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 02891 |
| Event Date Year | 1999 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | WESTERLY STATE AIRPORT |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | WST |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 81 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1153 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | WST |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 81 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 3700 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| 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) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 90 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 13 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1038 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 5 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1754 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 5 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1215 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 11 2001 4:05AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4830S |
| NTSB Number | NYC99FA220 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| 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-32-260 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-32-260 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32-1261 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3400 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 2 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 11 |
| Airframe Hours | 3092 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | NEW ENGLAND AIRLINES INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | STATE AIRPORT |
| Aircraft Owner City | WESTERLY |
| Aircraft Owner State | RI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 02891 |
| 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 | NEAA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| 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 | Scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | WST |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1152 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | BID |
| Destination City | BLOCK ISLAND |
| Destination State | RI |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 11 2001 4:05AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 7 |
| Runway Length | 4010 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |