Piper PA-32-300 accident near Pittsboro, North Carolina, August 21, 1988
On August 21, 1988 at about 8:00 am local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N4169W, was destroyed in an accident near Pittsboro, North Carolina (Horace Williams airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. 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
- August 21, 1988 · about 8:00 am local time
- Place
- Pittsboro, North Carolina · Horace Williams · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N4169W · registry record · serial 32-40237
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT HAD AN INSTRUMENT PLT ACCOMPANY HIM ON THE FLIGHT TO MYRTLE BEACH IN THE EVENT THE WX REQUIRED IFR FOR THE RETURN FLT. WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT MYRTLE BEACH, THE PLT DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD REMAIN OVERNIGHT. AFTER VISITING SOME NIGHT SPOTS AND DOING SOME DRINKING, THE TWO BECAME SEPARATED AND WENT THEIR OWN WAY. THE PLT DECIDED TO RETURN TO CHAPEL HILL. HE FLEW THE ROUTE AT 8,500 FEET. ARRIVING NEAR HIS DESTINATION, HE CONTACTED RALEIGH/DURHAM (RDU) APCH CONT AND WAS CLEARED TO DESCEND AT PLT'S DISCRETION, BUT WAS TOLD TO MAINTAIN VFR. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TREES IN INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN A HIGH SPEED DESCENT. INDEPENDENTLY CONDUCTED TOXICOLOGY TESTS INDICATED BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVELS OF 0.10% AND 0.071%. ON THE PILOT'S APPLICATION FOR A MEDICAL CERTIFICATE HE HAD DENIED ANY RECORD OF TRAFFIC CONVICTIONS OR EXCESSIVE DRINKING HABITS. DURING THE INVESTIGATION IT WAS LEARNED THAT THE PILOT HAD BEEN CONVICTED FOR DWI IN JUNE 1987 AND HAD HAD HIS DRIVER LICENSE SUSPENDED FOR 1 YEAR IN JANUARY 1988.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 198 hours in all; 7 in this make and model; 142 in the last 90 days; 37 in the last 30 days; 94 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,986 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 1, 1988; 63 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Chapel Hill Flying Club
The flight
- Departed from: CRE N. Myrtle Beach SC at 7:10 am
- Destination: W5Z Chapel Hill NC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 8, 3,500 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 230° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 400 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:50 am from RDU, 19 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.