History of Flight
On November 15, 2009, about 1711 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-140, registration N1723T, was substantially damaged after colliding with mountainous terrain near Newcomb, New York. The airplane was registered to How Y & ERR, Inc., of Wilmington, Delaware. The certificated airline transport pilot (ATP) and one passenger were killed. Night, instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight departed Saratoga County Airport (5B2) in Saratoga Springs, New York, at 1625.
The ATP, who also held a flight instructor and designated pilot examiner certificate, was returning to Malone, New York, after conducting an oral and practical flight test for a sport pilot applicant. The passenger, who obtained a student pilot certificate in 2005, accompanied the ATP. The last known position of the airplane was approximately 42 nautical miles from the departure airport on the V-203 airway at 4,200 feet mean sea level (msl). After the flight did not arrive as expected, an alert notice (ALNOT) was issued. The wreckage was located on the morning of November 17 in mountainous terrain north of Newcomb at an elevation of 4,025 feet GPS altitude near airway V-203. The peak elevation of the mountain was 4,621 feet msl.
Personnel Information
The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate dated August 22, 2009, with ratings for airplane single-engine land and sea, and airplane multiengine land. He also held a flight instructor and designated pilot examiner certificate. On his most recent airman certificate application, he reported 14,750 hours of civilian flight time. His pilot logbooks were not recovered. The pilot's most recent second-class medical certificate was issued on August 27, 2009.
The passenger held a student pilot and third-class medical certificate dated February 8, 2005, and reported 205 hours of civilian flight time. No evidence indicated that he was receiving dual instruction during the accident flight.
Aircraft Information
Examination of the airplane maintenance records showed that an annual inspection was performed on the airframe and engine on June 12, 2009, at a total airframe time of 6,890.5 hours. A 100-hour inspection was performed on September 1, 2009, at a total airframe time of 6,989.4 hours. The engine was replaced with an overhauled engine on February 13, 2008, at a total airframe time of 6,518.3 hours.
Meteorological Information
The 1709 weather observation for Saranac Lake, New York (SLK), located approximately 19 nautical miles north-northwest of the accident site, indicated calm winds, visibility 0.25 statute miles in fog, few clouds at 100 feet, scattered clouds at 2,100 feet, temperature 9 degrees Celsius, dew point 8 degrees Celsius, and altimeter setting 29.90 inches of mercury.
A New York State Police helicopter pilot flying from Burlington, Vermont, to SLK on the evening of the accident reported general en route weather conditions of a low haze layer with patches of low clouds, with cloud bases ranging from 800 to 4,500 feet. He stated that shortly after he arrived at SLK at about 1755, the field went IMC due to fog.
According to data from the U.S. Naval Observatory, sunset at Saranac Lake was at 1629, with the end of civil twilight at 1701. Moonset was at 1525.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was located on the south side of Santanoni Mountain, about 47 nautical miles from the destination airport, on November 17, 2009. Due to terrain inaccessibility, FAA inspectors could not examine the wreckage on scene. On November 18, 2009, they met with a New York State forest ranger and an investigator from the New York State Police to review photographs taken on scene.
Initial ground impact was into a rock ledge about 4 feet high, oriented southwest to northeast in steep terrain. The wreckage path followed the rock ledge, and broken trees indicated a northerly aircraft heading at impact. The nose cowling and propeller were found closest to the initial impact site. A majority of the cabin and fuselage were consumed by postcrash fire.
The wreckage was recovered by external lift helicopter and transported to a salvage facility in Clayton, Delaware, where an NTSB investigator examined it on December 9 and 10, 2009.
Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of preexisting mechanical anomalies. Flight control continuity was confirmed from the ailerons, stabilator, and rudder to the cockpit. The flight control cables in the cockpit were cut consistent with recovery. The flap selector was in the retracted position.
The engine remained attached to the mount, which was still attached to the firewall. The crankshaft was fractured at the nose case. The carburetor was separated from the oil sump. The oil filter element was free of ferrous particles. The right magneto was heat damaged; the left magneto produced spark on all leads when tested, and the impulse coupling operated normally. Due to impact damage, the engine could not be rotated by hand. No evidence of lack of lubrication was found. Spark plugs exhibited moderate wear and dark coloration.
Both propeller blades showed heavy leading edge damage. One blade was bent aft with the leading edge twisted toward low pitch and heavy scrapes. The other blade was bent aft about 90 degrees with heavy chord-wise scratching on the cambered portion, and a piece of the blade tip was missing.
Medical and Pathological Information
Postmortem examination of the pilot by the Department of Pathology at Adirondack Medical Center listed the cause of death as multiple blunt force traumatic injuries due to the crash. Forensic toxicology performed by the FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory (CAMI) was negative for ethanol, cyanide, carbon monoxide, and drugs.
Postmortem examination of the passenger also listed the cause of death as multiple blunt force traumatic injuries due to the aircraft accident. Forensic toxicology was negative for ethanol, carbon monoxide, and drugs; testing for cyanide was not performed.
Additional Information
A Garmin GPSMAP 96c portable GPS receiver in undamaged, working condition was recovered and analyzed by the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory. Data from the accident flight began at 1621:31 with a position fix at 5B2. The final GPS position was recorded at N44 degrees 04.574 minutes, W074 degrees 07.870 minutes, at a GPS altitude of 4,025 feet. The last calculated velocity and direction were 89 knots groundspeed with a course of 332 degrees true. During the final 68 seconds of recorded flight, the data indicated a descent from 4,457 to 4,025 feet.