Piper PA-23-250 accident near Marion, VA
On March 18, 1996, a Piper PA-23-250 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Marion, VA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 18, 1996
- Place
- Marion, VA
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23-250 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 36.830°N, 81.510°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X05410
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 18, 1996, at 0100 eastern standard time (EST), a Piper PA-23-250, N54839, collided with trees while on a localizer approach to runway 26 at Mountain Empire Airport, in Marion, Virginia. The certificated commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed. The positioning flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from Lonesome Pine Airport, Wise, Virginia, at about 0001 EST. The intended destination was Marion, Virginia. According to one of the employees at Empire Aviation, the pilot reported for duty about 1000 EST on March 17, 1996. The pilot departed Marion about 2108 EST to pick up some passengers in Charlotte, North Carolina. He picked up the passengers in North Carolina, dropped them off in Wise, Virginia, then returned to the home base airport in Marion. According to air traffic control (ATC) records, at 0022 EST, air traffic control (ATC) cleared the pilot for the localizer approach to runway 26. At 0041 EST, the pilot advised ATC that he was executing the missed approach. At 0042 EST, the pilot reported that he saw the runway, "...but could not get slowed down enough..." to make the landing. According to the Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) records, the pilot was cleared for a second localizer approach at 0048 EST. The pilot acknowledged. There is no record of any other radio transmissions from the pilot. Excerpts from ATC transcripts are appended. A witness repor
Probable cause
the pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance during the instrument approach (FAF/Outer Marker to Threshold IFR), which resulted in the in-flight collision with trees. A related factor was the foggy weather conditions.
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Browse: Virginia · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
