Plane Crash Reports 2003

2003 Plane Crash Report Result

Title: PA-44-180, N578TP, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY AIRLINE TRANSPO

Report Date: 06/16

Plane Crash Problem: On June 8, 2003, at 1340 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-44-180, N578TP, registered to and operated by Airline Transport Professionals Corp. of USA, collided with the ground during an instructional flight near Battleboro, North Carolina. The instructional flight was operated under the provision of Title 14 CFR Part 91 and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the certified flight instructor, commercial rated student pilot and pilot rated passenger were fatally injured. The flight departed Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), Raleigh Durham, North Carolina, on June 8, 2003, at 1255. The instructional flight departed RDU on an instrument flight to Rocky Mount, North Carolina. At 1315, the instrument flight plan was cancelled and the flight continued under visual flight rules. At 1340, two eyewitnesses saw the airplane spinning towards the ground. The witnesses also stated they did not hear the engines running during the descent. Examination of the wreckage site revealed the airplane came to rest approximately 30 feet off of a local road. The airplane was found in an upright position with all flight control surfaces were still connected to the airframe. The left wing sustained leading edge crush damage, and approximately four feet of the outboard section of the wing assembly was displaced up about 45 degrees. The right wing sustained span-wise buckling, and approximately four feet of the outboard section of the wing assembly was displaced forward. The nose section of the airframe was also displaced up at an approximate 45 degree angle. The cockpit was separated from the lower section of the fuselage and displaced to the right. Both engines were partially buried in the ground.

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