WELLSBORO, PA, USA
N9673C
PIPER PA-28R-201
THE PILOT AND PASSENGER DEPARTED ON A LOCAL FLIGHT AT ABOUT 0300 EDT. THE MANAGER OF A FIXED BASE OPERATOR (FBO) AT THE AIRPORT HEARD THE AIRPLANE RETURN AND THOUGHT IT ENTERED A DOWNWIND TO LAND. AT ABOUT 0329, HE HEARD THE ENGINE POWER INCREASE, THEN HEARD A 'THUD.' DUE TO INJURIES, THE PILOT DID NOT REMEMBER THE OCCURRENCE. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAD TURNED ONTO FINAL APPROACH, WHEN IT CONTACTED THE GROUND ABOUT 1/4 MILE FROM THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 28. DURING IMPACT, THE LEFT WING STRUCK TERRAIN THAT SLOPED FROM LEFT TO RIGHT & WAS ABOUT 25' HIGHER THAN THE AIRPORT ELEVATION. TOXICOLOGY TESTS OF THE PILOT'S BLOOD (TAKEN OVER 2 HOURS AFTER THE ACCIDENT) HAD AN ALCOHOL LEVEL OF 70.0 MG/DL (0.070%). TESTS OF THE PASSENGER'S BLOOD SHOWED AN ALCOHOL LEVEL OF 53.6 MG/DL (0.0536%).
On August 8, 1994, at 0329 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA- 28R-201, N9673C, owned by 4621J Aviation and piloted by Daniel Lundmark, was substantially damaged when it struck the ground while on approach to the Grand Canyon State Airport, Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. The pilot and passenger received serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight operating under 14 CFR 91. The pilot did not recall any events relating to the flight, due to injuries received during the accident. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, interviewed the passenger immediately after the accident in the Guthrie Square Hospital, Sayre, Pennsylvania. In the FAA Inspector's summary, Mr. Stanley Bencus stated that the airplane was on final approach and, "...everything looked good. They had the runway in site, but hit some trees off the end of the runway. The PIC [pilot-in-command] then applied full power, but the plane was already hitting the ground..." Mr. Bencus also stated to the FAA Inspector that neither he, or the pilot, had been drinking alcoholic beverages. The passenger elected not to speak with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Investigator-In-Charge (IIC). In a written statement Mr. Bencus stated, "...The flight, to the best of my knowledge, went as it was supposed to. Upon arrival back at the airport he [Mr. Lundmark] turned on the landing lights at the runway with his radio...we were all lined up with the runway when all of a sudden there were trees..." The Fixed Base Operator of the Grand Canyon State Airport, Mr. Richard C. Johnston, lives adjacent to the airport. In a statement provided by Mr. Johnston, he stated that he heard an airplane running on the airport ramp. He went outside of his home and still heard the engine running, and observed the runway lights come on. At approximately 0300, the airplane departed on runway 28 and departed the area in a northeast direction. He later heard an airplane, and thought it was entering a downwind to land. He further stated, "...I heard full power come on and then I heard a big thud, and realized that the plane had crashed ...I heard this thud noise at 0329 a.m., right after the full power came on..." According to the FAA Inspector's report, "...it seemed as though the aircraft was on a crosswind for runway 28, turning final, when he came in contact with the ground, about 1/4 mile from the end of runway 28." In a telephone interview with Trooper Green, of the Pennsylvania State Police, he stated that the airplane was flying in a westerly direction toward runway 28 at the Wellsboro Airport. The open farm field in which the airplane crashed slopes downward, from south to north (left to right). The top of the terrain on the south side of the final approach course was about 25 feet higher then the airport elevation. The left wing of the airplane struck the up-slope of the terrain at airport elevation. Blood alcohol testing for Mr. Lundmark revealed a reading of 70.0 mg/dl, and testing for Mr. Bencus revealed 53.6 mg/dl.
THE PILOT'S IMPAIRMENT OF JUDGMENT AND PERFORMANCE DUE TO ALCOHOL, WHICH LED TO HIS MISJUDGMENT OF ALTITUDE AND DISTANCE TO THE RUNWAY AND COLLISION WITH TERRAIN, WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH TO LAND. A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS: DARKNESS.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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