Moisant Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Norco, Louisiana 70079
Saturday, January 4, 1986 18:14 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE PLT INITIATED AN ILS APCH IN BELOW MINIMUM WEATHER CONDITIONS SHORTLY AFTER NIGHT FALL. HE WAS GIVEN A LOW ALT ALERT, BUT CONTINUED THE APCH. HE ANNOUNCED A MISSED APCH, AND INDICATED PROBLEMS CLIMBING TO ALT. HE THEN DECLARED AN UNSPECIFIED EMERGENCY, AND REQUESTED VECTORS TO A LARGER ARPT, IN SPITE OF WORSENING WEATHER CONDITIONS. HE REACHED AN ALT OF 2100 FT, BUT COMMENCED ANOTHER ILS APCH DESPITE PREVIOUS DIFFICULTIES. RADAR DATA INDICATES EXCESSIVE MANEUVERING TO INTERCEPT THE INBOUND COURSE, WITH WIDE VARIATIONS IN GROUNDSPEED AND ALT. FOLLOWING A STEEP CLIMB AT A LOW GROUNDSPEED, THE ACFT DISAPPEARED BELOW RADAR COVERAGE. WITNESSES INDICATED IRREGULAR ENGINE SOUNDS AS THE ACFT MADE A TIGHT LEVEL TURN AT LOW ALT PRIOR TO IMPACTING TREES IN A NEAR LEVEL ATTITUDE. ON-SCENE EVIDENCE SHOWS POWER WAS BEING PRODUCED FROM BOTH ENGINES UPON IMPACT. POST-IMPACT FIRE CONSUMED THE WRECKAGE.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/4/1986
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1814
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City NORCO
Event State LOUISIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 70079
Event Date Year 1986
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport MOISANT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MSY
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 6
Degrees magnetic from airport 288
Airport Elevation 4
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1755 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 108
Weather Observation Facility ID MSY
Elevation of weather observation facility 4
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 7
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 100
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Partial Obscuration
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Obscured
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 35
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 13
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
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 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1651
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 4 1986 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1930
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 32077
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 2:57PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9253Y
NTSB Number FTW86FA031
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion Ground
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-31P-350
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-31P-350
Aircraft Serial Number 319-8414030
Certified Max Gross Weight 7200
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 7
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 6 1985 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 60
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name WILLIAM P. GUNDY
Aircraft Owner Street Address BOX 301
Aircraft Owner City MILFORD
Aircraft Owner State NH
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 03031
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code GSP
Departure City GREER
Departure State SC
Departure Country
Departure Time 1512
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 2:56PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 10
Runway Length 9228
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --