Piper PA-32-300 accident near Myersville, Maryland, June 9, 1989
On June 9, 1989 at about 6:32 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N1499X, was destroyed in an accident near Myersville, Maryland. 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
CONTINUED FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC) AND HIS INABILITY TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT AFTER BECOMING SPATIALLY DISORIENTED. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE HILLY/MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN, WEATHER CONDITIONS, THE PILOT'S LACK OF INSTRUMENT EXPERIENCE, AND HIS IMPAIRMENT FROM A PRESCRIPTION DRUG THAT WAS NOT APPROVED FOR USE WHILE FLYING.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 9, 1989 · about 6:32 pm local time
- Place
- Myersville, Maryland · 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
- N1499X · no longer on the register · serial 32-7540168
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG A WX BRIEFING BEFORE TAKEOFF, THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PLT WAS ADZD THAT VFR FLT WAS NOT RCMDD. WHILE EN ROUTE ON A VFR FLT, THE ACFT CRASHED IN AN AREA WHERE RIDGE TOPS WERE OBSCD BY CLOUDS. A WITNESS, WHO HEARD THE ACFT, RPRTD THAT IT SOUNDED LIKE IT ENTERED A STEEP DESCENT BEFORE IT CRASHED. AN EXAM OF THE CRASH SITE VERIFIED THE ACFT HAD IMPACTED IN A STEEP DESCENT. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT WAS FOUND. TOXICOLOGY CHECKS OF THE PLT'S LIVER TISSUE WERE POSITIVE FOR NORDIAZEPAM (AT OR ABOVE 0.148 MG/L) & MAPROTILINE AT OR ABOVE 8.6 MG/KG). NORDIAZEPAM IS A TRANQUILIZER & MAPROTILINE IS USED TO TREAT DEPRESSION. THE PLT'S FAMILY RPRTD THAT CENTRAX (PRAZEPAM) & LUDIOMIL (MAPROTILENE HYDROCHLORIDE) HAD BEEN PRESCRIBED TO THE PLT FOR CONTROL OF DEPRESSION.
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: 166 hours in all; 109 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 62 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,793 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 29, 1988; 33 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: M & H Aircraft Corporation INC
The flight
- Departed from: HGR Hagerstown MD at 6:04 pm
- Destination: FDK Frederick MD
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 7 knots
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:45 pm from MRB, 10 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.