Piper PA-44-180 accident near Florence, South Carolina, January 16, 1988
On January 16, 1988, a Piper PA-44-180, registered N268NA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Florence, South Carolina (Florence Regional airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were 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 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 16, 1988 · cases in 1988
- Place
- Florence, South Carolina · Florence Regional · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-44-180 · all PA-44-180s on the register
- Registration
- N268NA · registry record · serial 448195010
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE LEFT MAIN LDG GEAR COLLAPSED DURING TAKEOFF ROLL, FOLLOWING A TOUCH & GO LDG. THE AIRPLANE SUBSEQUENTLY VEERED INTO A SNOWBANK. POST-CRASH EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THAT THE LEFT MLG TRUSS BRACKET ASSY HAD PULLED LOOSE FROM THE ACFT STRUCTURE AND THAT TWO OF THE LOWER MOUNTING BOLTS WERE MISSING. THE CORRESPONDING BOLT HOLES IN THE BRACKET AND IN THE ACFT STRUCTURE EXHIBITED NO EVIDENCE OF DAMAGE. EXAM OF THE ACFT MAINTENANCE RECORDS REVEALED NO ENTRIES WITH REGARD TO ANY WORK PERFORMED ON THE TRUSS BRACKET ASSY. THE CFI RPTD THAT SHE AND HER STUDENT HAD FELT A 'BUMP' FROM THE LEFT GEAR WHILE LANDING AT ANOTHER ARPT EARLIER THAT EVENING. SHE EXAMINED THE GEAR PRIOR TO DEPARTING THE ARPT, BUT FOUND NOTHING 'UNUSUAL', EXCEPT THAT THE ACFT SEEMED LOWER ON THE LEFT SIDE.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 691 hours in all; 86 in this make and model; 175 in the last 90 days; 573 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,783 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 15, 1987; 46 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-E1A6D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: No. Amer.Institute of Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: CAE Columbia SC
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 9, 6,498 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N268NA on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Piper PA-44 Seminole 602 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,848 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-E1A6D 8 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Florence Regional · nearest airport
- Columbia Metro Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in South Carolina 1,035 since 1982 · 172 in the last ten years
- South Carolina 3,113 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ATL88LA080.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.