St Marys Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St Marys, Georgia 31558
Sunday, July 5, 1987 1:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

AFTER RETURNING FM A LOCAL NGT FLT, THE ACFT WAS LNDD GEAR UP WHEN THE LNDG GEAR DID NOT EXTEND. THE ACFT BGN BURNING AFTER IT CAME TO REST. IT WAS EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED BY FIRE & THE CAUSE OF THE GEAR MALFUNCTION WAS NOT DETERMINED. LOCAL POLICE, WHO RESPONDED TO THE ACCIDENT, NOTED 'AN ODOR, COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES' COMING FM THE PLT. HE WAS REMINDED OF THE GEORGIA IMPLIED CONSENT WARNING, BUT REFUSED TO PROVIDE A BLOOD SAMPLE FOR THE POLICE TO USE FOR A TOXICOLOGY TEST. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE PLT HAD ONLY A STUDENT LICENSE & HAD TAKEN THE ACFT WITHOUT THE OWNER'SPERMISSION. THE OWNER WAS AN ASSOCIATE OF THE PLT'S UNCLE. ONE OF THE PASSENGERS STATED THAT HE & THE PLT HAD BEEN 'DRINKING' & THEY DECIDED TO GO FLYING WITH 2 OTHER PERSONS. HE NOTED THAT WHEN THE GEAR DID NOT EXTEND, HE SAW A RED HANDLE THAT SAID 'EMERGENCY GEAR DOWN.' HE STATED 'I STARTED TO MESS WITH IT, BUT IT DID NOT DO ANY GOOD.' THE PLT STATED THE GEAR DID NOT EXTEND BY USING EITHER THE NORMAL OR MANUAL SYS. HE RPRTD ONLY 2 HRS FLT TIME IN PA-24 ACFT.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/5/1987
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 100
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City ST MARYS
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 31558
Event Date Year 1987
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ST MARYS
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 4J6
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 24
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 100 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 190
Weather Observation Facility ID JAX
Elevation of weather observation facility 30
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 12000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 12000
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) 4
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 800
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 831
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 6 1987 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 200
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 33957
Date of most recent change to record Dec 13 2000 2:34PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6165P
NTSB Number ATL87LA198
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-24-250
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-24-250
Aircraft Serial Number 241266
Certified Max Gross Weight 2800
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 --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4696
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BALLEW, M STAN
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. DRAWER 1188
Aircraft Owner City TIFTON
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 31793
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name VAUGHN, ROBERT B
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 310 OSBORNE STREET
Operator City ST MARYS
Operator State GA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 31558
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 2345
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
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 4
Runway Length 5000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --