Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Broadway, North Carolina 27505
Thursday, March 14, 2002 16:28 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The accident airplane was on a Title 14 CFR Part 135 non scheduled cargo flight, when it collided a 1749 ft AGL (2149 ft MSL) communications tower. The airplane exploded on impact and the tower collapsed. The resulting debris was spread over an area of about 700 yards. A witness stated that he, his wife, and their two children were in their front yard, and they heard an aircraft engine. They all turned around to look at the airplane and he said he noted that the airplane was flying "westward or into the sun." He stated that as the airplane approached the tower, it appeared to have been lower than other airplanes he had seen fly over the tower previously. He stated that the airplane appeared to hit a guy wire, and that he did not notice any attempt to correct the flight path before the collision occurred. He also said that there had been no signs of trouble with the airplane's engine. As the airplane collided, it "jolted to the left, and exploded in mid air." He said that the collision appeared to have occurred about 3/4 of the way up the tower, and about 4 or 5 seconds after the explosion, the tower fell in the direction that the aircraft had been traveling. He said that at the time of the accident, the sky was clear, and the tower was visible. The Sanford -Lee County Regional Airport 1701, surface weather observation was, clear skies, winds from 160 degrees at 6 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, temperature 22 degrees C, dewpoint temperature 14 degrees C, altimeter setting 30.06 inHg. Examination of debris and associated impact marks on the tower structure revealed that the airplane impacted the tower at the 1425-foot level, and that there were no signs of preaccident anomalies with the airframe, flight controls or engine. At the time of the accident the sun was at an altitude of 22 degrees on a bearing of 250 degrees from the accident site. The accident airplane was being flown on a magnetic heading of about 265 degrees.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate visual lookout and his failure to maintain obstacle clearance.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/14/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1628 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Broadway |
| Event State | NORTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 27505 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 353044N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0785840W |
| 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 | 1701 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 297 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TTA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 247 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 14 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.06 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| 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) | 16388 |
| NTSB Notification Source | NTSB Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 14 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1812 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 29 2004 1:02PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Greensboro, NC |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4451X |
| NTSB Number | MIA02FA067 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | In-flight |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA32R-300 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32R7680018 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3600 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 7 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 16 |
| Airframe Hours | 13550 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Bellefonte Inc., |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 3704 Stonegate Dr. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Durham |
| Aircraft Owner State | NC |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 27705 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | RAM AIR FREIGHT INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 1425 Meridian Drive |
| Operator City | Raleigh |
| Operator State | NC |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 27623 |
| Operator Code | FFKA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | -- |
| 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 | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Cargo |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | PGV |
| Departure City | Greenville |
| Departure State | NC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1545 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | JQF |
| Destination City | Concord |
| Destination State | NC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise - normal |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 4 2004 11:10AM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |