Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Falmouth, Massachusetts 02540
Monday, January 15, 2001 19:45 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot's wife, the pilot woke up early on the day of the accident, and flew to Lawrence, Massachusetts, to look at an airplane he was considering purchasing. She talked with the pilot about 1000. The pilot stated he had landed at Norwood, Massachusetts, due to snow and the poor weather conditions and that he had hoped to complete the flight before the weather moved into the area. At that time, the pilot stated he had called for a rental car and was waiting for it to arrive, so he could drive home. She next talked to the pilot about 1430, and was informed that he was still waiting for a rental car to arrive. She stated that the pilot was "very frustrated;" and they talked about him possibly renting a room at a local hotel. The pilot stated he would call her when the rental car arrived. At approximately 1612, the pilot requested a "special visual flight rules" (SVFR) clearance to depart the airport to the southwest. The controller noted that the ceiling was 400 feet overcast, and observed, " what appeared to be up to 2 inches of slush and snow on the airplane's wings and control surfaces." The controller denied the SVFR clearance and advised the pilot of the low ceilings and snow/slush contamination he observed on the airplane. However, the pilot departed, without a clearance and turned southwest. There were no further known communications with the airplane. Several residents reported seeing and/or hearing a low-flying airplane to local authorities. The last visual sighting, and radar contact with the airplane occurred between 1930 and 2000. The body of the pilot was located in Buzzards Bay, on May 27, 2001, and as of May 8, 2002, the airplane had not been located. The pilot was instrument rated and reported 15,000 hours of total flight experience on his most recent FAA second class medical certificate. The following weather was reported at an airport in Falmouth, Massachusetts, at 1855, a visibility of 1 1/2 miles in light rain and mist, and ceilings at 300 feet broken and 500 feet overcast; at 1955, a visibility of 1 1/2 miles in light rain and mist, and a ceiling of 800 feet overcast; at 2055, a visibility of 1 1/2 miles in light rain and mist, and a ceiling of 300 feet overcast.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper decision to takeoff and attempt VFR flight in IMC conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/15/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1945 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Falmouth |
| Event State | MASSACHUSETTS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 02540 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| 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 | 1955 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FMH |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 132 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 800 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 1.5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 30 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.92 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Light |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| 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) | 12834 |
| NTSB Notification Source | NEROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 15 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2300 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 1 2003 4:20PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | LOGAN |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5391Z |
| NTSB Number | NYC01LA132 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | Y |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-22-108 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 22-9160 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1650 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 28 2000 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 4656 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WARNER F. HENDRIX |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | NORTH KINGSTOWN |
| Aircraft Owner State | RI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 02852 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Warner F. Hendrix |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | North Kingstown |
| Operator State | RI |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 02852 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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 | OWD |
| Departure City | NORWOOD |
| Departure State | MA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1612 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | OQU |
| Destination City | NORTH KINGSTOWN |
| Destination State | RI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Unknown |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 9 2002 1:22PM |
| User who most recently changed record | PEAR |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |