Piper PA-60 accident near Atlanta, Georgia, February 16, 1984
On February 16, 1984 at about 1:23 am local time, a Piper PA-60, registered N6070D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Atlanta, Georgia (Hartsfield International). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- February 16, 1984 · about 1:23 am local time
- Place
- Atlanta, Georgia · Hartsfield International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-60 · all PA-60s on the register
- Registration
- N6070D · no longer on the register · serial 600679796121
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH THE PLT NOTED AN UNSAFE NOSE GEAR INDICATION. TOWER PERSONNEL WERE UNABLE TO DETERMINE GEAR POSITION DURING A FLY-BY. DURING LANDING TOUCHDOWN THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE ACFT HAD A BROKENBOLT IN THE NOSE GEAR STEERING DAMPNER. THIS DAMAGE HAD OCCURRED DURING GROUND HANDLING PRIOR TO DEPARTURE BUT A MECHANIC TOLD THE PILOT IT WAS OK TO OPERATE THE ACFT.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,320 hours in all; 460 in this make and model; 287 in the last 90 days; 3,100 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,308 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-G1BS (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CLT Charlotte NC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27R, 8,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.
Other NTSB records under N6070D the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.