Piper PA-32R-300 accident near Rock Hill, South Carolina, July 18, 1984
On July 18, 1984 at about 3:07 am local time, a Piper PA-32R-300, registered N400WS, was destroyed in an accident near Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 18, 1984 · about 3:07 am local time
- Place
- Rock Hill, South Carolina
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N400WS · registry record · serial 32R-7680425
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED IN A POST FLT FIRE AFTER A FORCED LANDING AT NIGHT IN A PRIVATE YARD. THE ENGINE HAD SURGED AND LOST POWER DURING THE DESCENT THROUGH 4500 FT PRIOR TO LANDING. THE ACFT HAD BEEN WRITTEN UP FOR SLUGGISHNESS AND LACK OF RESPONSE TO THROTTLE UPON ARRIVAL AT MONTGOMERY. MONTGOMERY AVIATION DID SOME MAINTENANCE CHECKS AND MADE A COMMENT ABOUT SUSPECTING FUEL INJECTORS. THEY STATED THEY ADVISED THE PLT OF THE SITUATION BUT NO WRITTEN STATEMENT WAS PROVIDEDTO SUPPORT THIS. EXANIMATION OF THE ACFT WRECKAGE SHOWED WATER IN THE FUEL LINES AND DISTRIBUTOR UNIT. THE PLT SAID HIS PRACTICE WAS TO DRAIN THE SUMPS AFTER REFUELING AND NOT DURING PRE-FLT WHEN HE ONLY 'CHECKS THE FUEL LEVEL.'
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,600 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 1,148 as pilot in command; 134 on instruments
- Medical certificate: None (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,835 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 7, 1984; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Saber Aviation,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: FTY Atlanta GA at 1:49 am
- Destination: CLT Charlotte NC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 160° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,200 ft; not recorded at 2,200 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:51 am from CLT, 13 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.