Piper PA-28R-200 accident near Petersburg, Texas, December 7, 1986
On December 7, 1986, a Piper PA-28R-200, registered N4475F, was destroyed in an accident near Petersburg, Texas (Lubbock International 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
- December 7, 1986
- Place
- Petersburg, Texas · Lubbock International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28R-200 · all PA-28R-200s on the register
- Registration
- N4475F · no longer on the register · serial 28R7635409
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACFT IMPACTED IN A 95 DEG NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE FOLLOWING A LOSS OF CONTROL IN IMC CONDITIONS WHILE THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PVT PLT WAS BEING VECTORED TO THE FINAL APP CRS. PLT HAD FILED IFR AND HAD EXPERIENCED DIFFICULTIES THRU OUT THE FLT. AS HE WAS GIVEN VECTORS FOR SEQUENCING HIS FLYING BECAME ERRATIC AND HE COMPLAINED OF PITOT ICE AND INSTRUMENT PROBLEMS. ICING LVL WAS WELL ABOVE HIS ALT AND POST-ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT ALL INSTRUMENTS WERE WORKING NORMALLY. HIS DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEMS WAS INCONSISTENT WITH THE WAY THE 2 SEPARATE INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS OPERATE. THE PLT HAD RECENTLY FAILED HIS INSTRUMENT WRITTEN AND HAD A TOTAL OF 39 HRS SIMULATED INSTRUMENT TIME. EVIDENCE ALSO REVEALED HE WAS OPERATING THE ACFT WITH AN INOP ADF AND DEFICIENT VHF NAV RADIOS.
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: 850 hours in all; 401 in this make and model; 38 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days; 774 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,923 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 14, 1986; 144 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-CIC (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: APA Denver CO at 8:54 pm
- Destination: LBB Lubbock TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 17R, 11,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 170° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.