Piper PA-24-180 accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 9, 1988
On October 9, 1988 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-24-180, registered N7228P, was destroyed in an accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico (Alameda airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people were seriously injured. 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
- October 9, 1988 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Albuquerque, New Mexico · Alameda · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-180 · all PA-24-180s on the register
- Registration
- N7228P · no longer on the register · serial 24-2402
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PLT-RATED PAX TOLD PLT, CORONADO ARPT 'IN SIGHT'. PLT WAS SUSPICIOUS BECAUSE LORAN INDICATED ARPT WAS 3 MI AWAY BUT TRUSTED FORMER INSTRUMENT STUDENT'S JUDGMENT & LANDED AT CLOSED ALAMEDA ARPT INSTEAD OF CORONADO ARPT. CORONADO UNICOM HAD TOLD PLT 'MULTIPLE BALLOONS IN AREA, FAVORING RWY 17.' PLT SAW TWO BALLOONS WHILE ON FINAL APCH. THE PLT SAID HE SAW A 'STARBURST' ON THE RWY BUT DIDN'T REALIZE IT WAS AN 'X' PAINTED OVER THE NOS 17 ON THE RWY, INDICATING A CLOSED RUNWAY, UNTIL AFTER HE FLARED. PLT ABORTED LANDING & ATTEMPTED GO-AROUND. AS ACFT LIFTED OFF, PLT SAW HOT AIR BALLOON DIRECTLY AHEAD & VEERED RIGHT SHARPLY TO AVOID COLLISION. STALL WARNING HORN SOUNDED CONTINOUSLY AS THE PLT TRIED TO MAINTAIN AIRSPEED, FLEW UNDER POWERLINES, HIT A CHAIN LINK FENCE, & CRASHED INTO A PARKED TRUCK TRAILER 1/4 MI FROM ARPT. CLOSED ARPT RWY WAS NOT PROPERLY MARKED AS SUGGESTED BY FAA ADVISORY CIRCULAR.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,089 hours in all; 70 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days; 2,000 as pilot in command; 1,700 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,800 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 25, 1988; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 2V1 Pagosa Springs CO at 4:15 pm
- Destination: 4AC Albuquerque NM
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 6,080 ft by 80 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 60 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:52 pm from ABQ, 9 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.