Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Florence, South Carolina 29501
Thursday, February 6, 2003 18:53 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a cross-country instrument flight at 5,300 feet the pilot radioed that he was having difficulty maintaining altitude. The air traffic controller reported the lost of radar and radio contact with the airplane at 1853. Local authorities were notified, and launched a ground and air search for the downed airplane. The airplane wreckage was located in a wooded area at 0815 on February 7, 2003. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any airframe or mechanical malfunctions. According to the Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular #60-4A: during periods of low visibility a pilot is particularly vulnerable to spatial disorientation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot experienced spatial disorientation, which resulted in a loss of control and the subsequent collision with the ground. A factors was dark night and clouds.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/6/2003
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1853
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Florence
Event State SOUTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 29501
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 341645N
Event Location Longitude 0794535W
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 Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1853 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID FLO
Elevation of weather observation facility 146
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Night
Lowest Ceiling Height 600
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 4
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.12
Density Altitude (feet) -1427
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 3
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15811
NTSB Notification Source FAA Communicaton Center
NTSB Notification Date Feb 7 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 910
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 29 2004 7:30AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Columbia FSDO-13

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5587P
NTSB Number ATL03FA041
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-24-250
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 24-652
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 May 20 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2962
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Hartford Holding Corporation
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3511 Silverside Road STE 105
Aircraft Owner City Wilmington
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19810
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
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) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code OMN
Departure City Ormond Beach
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code BBP
Destination City Bennettsville
Destination State SC
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 31 2004 1:06PM
User who most recently changed record POWP
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --