Lakefront Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

New Orleans, Louisiana 70126
Saturday, November 20, 1999 17:18 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was number two in line behind traffic on a right base for runway 36R. The local controller asked the pilot if the visibility was hazy. The pilot replied, 'no it's not hazy uh it's just uh twilight (unintelligible) time.' When it appeared that the accident aircraft was lining up with runway 27, the local controller asked the pilot what his intentions were. The pilot advised local control that he would be turning downwind for runway 36R, but the local controller instructed him to turn right and enter a right base for runway 36R. The local controller asked the pilot if he had the runway in sight. The pilot replied 'roger.' A witness observed the aircraft flying slow at about 200 feet agl, with the wings level. The aircraft began a bank to the left and then a bank to the right. Then the aircraft's nose dropped, and it entered a left turn and descended from view. The airplane impacted the ground in a nose down attitude, and a fire erupted, which consumed the cockpit/cabin area. No structural or mechanical anomalies were observed during the post accident examination of the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control which resulted in a stall/spin. A contributing factor was the dusk light condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/20/1999
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1718
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City NEW ORLEANS
Event State LOUISIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 70126
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport LAKEFRONT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NEW
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 9
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1729 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID NEW
Elevation of weather observation facility 9
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Dusk
Lowest Ceiling Height 9000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 9
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 330
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
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 4
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 959
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Nov 20 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 Jul 2 2001 3:24PM
User who most recently changed record MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8825P
NTSB Number FTW00FA035
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-24-260
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-24-260
Aircraft Serial Number 24-4281
Certified Max Gross Weight 2900
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 15 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 99
Airframe Hours 6253
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CHARLES M. DANIELS
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1157 FINCH DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City GULF BREEZE
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32561
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 2R4
Departure City MILTON
Departure State FL
Departure Country
Departure Time 1610
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code NEW
Destination City
Destination State LA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 27 2001 4:07AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36R
Runway Length 3699
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --