Piper PA-28-181 accident near Provincetown, Massachusetts, September 1, 2011
On September 1, 2011 at about 2:40 am local time, a Piper PA-28-181, registered N6249C, was destroyed in an accident during initial climb near Provincetown, Massachusetts (Provincetown Municipal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate clearance from trees and terrain during the initial climb. Contributing was spatial disorientation due to a vestibular illusion and the pilot’s likely impairment due to alcohol consumption.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 1, 2011 · about 2:40 am local time
- Place
- Provincetown, Massachusetts · Provincetown Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181 · all PA-28-181s on the register
- Registration
- N6249C · no longer on the register · serial 28-7890356
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The non-instrument-rated pilot of the single-engine airplane was departing on a dark night from an airport located at the tip of a peninsula. Analysis of global positioning system data showed that the pilot initiated a takeoff from the runway and prior to reaching an altitude of 100 feet, he began turning the airplane on course to the destination airport. After crossing over the left boundary of the runway and with the airplane oriented toward a non-lighted area of the landmass and water below, the airplane ceased climbing and impacted trees about 900 feet beyond the left boundary of the runway. The wreckage path orientation and length were consistent with a shallow, powered descent, and signatures observed on the wreckage were consistent with a relatively level impact attitude. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airframe or engine. Toxicological analysis detected elevated levels of ethanol in postmortem samples of the pilot’s blood, urine, and brain tissue, the distribution of which was consistent with ingestion. The levels of ethanol present in the pilot’s samples were present in levels known to degrade psychomotor performance. Toxicological testing also detected an inactive metabolite of cocaine in postmortem samples of the pilot’s urine, but not in samples of blood. This was a likely indication that the pilot had used cocaine, but neither the drug nor its metabolite was active at the time of the accident. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot experiencing a form of spatial disorientation known as the somatogravic illusion, in which a pilot misperceives acceleration cues as increasing pitch and makes corrective nose-down inputs. These circumstances include the accelerating phase of flight during takeoff, the dark night lighting conditions associated with an early turn on course, and a non-instrument-rated pilot whose judgment and psychomotor performance were degraded by alcohol consumption. The airplane subsequently impacted the trees and terrain below in a shallow, un-arrested descent.
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
What happened, in order
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) during initial climb defining event
The NTSB's findings
- factor Personnel issues › Physical › Impairment/incapacitation › Alcohol › Pilot
- factor Personnel issues › Psychological › Perception/orientation/illusio › Spatial disorientation › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Altitude › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 340 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,630 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 21, 2010
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4M (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PVC Provincetown MA at 2:35 am
- Destination: 5B6 Falmouth MA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25, 3,502 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.20 inHg
- Observation at 2:35 am from PVC
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.