Piper PA-32RT-300T accident near Pelham, Alabama, December 8, 1999
On December 8, 1999 at about 11:17 pm local time, a Piper PA-32RT-300T, registered N39696, was destroyed in an accident near Pelham, Alabama. 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 student pilot's decision to continue the visual flight rules flight into deteriorating visibility, and his failure to maintain altitude clearance with the terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 8, 1999 · about 11:17 pm local time
- Place
- Pelham, Alabama · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32RT-300T PA-32RT-30 · all PA-32RT-300Ts on the register
- Registration
- N39696 · no longer on the register · serial 32R-7887147
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot departed into weather observed as 2,000 feet overcast, 6 miles visibility in light rain, with a temperature-dew point spread of 1 degree C., sometime after 1630 and at about 1717 crashed into a 800-to 900-foot ridgeline about 10 miles southeast of his departure point. Witnesses near the crash site stated that localized land clearing fires contributed to worsening visibility, and that they could hear the airplane maneuvering overhead in a generally southeast heading. On site examination of the wreckage of the airframe, engine, and their respective components revealed no mechanical abnormalities.
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: student
- Flight time: 300 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,900 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 20, 1999
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-S1AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: EKY Bessemer AL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 140° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from EET, 7 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.