Piper PA-32RT-300 accident near Clearwater, Florida, May 10, 1986
On May 10, 1986 at about 2:00 am local time, a Piper PA-32RT-300, registered N9272C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Clearwater, Florida (Clearwater Air Park airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 10, 1986 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Clearwater, Florida · Clearwater Air Park
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32RT-300 PA-32RT-30 · all PA-32RT-300s on the register
- Registration
- N9272C · registry record · serial 32R-7885041
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND AT AN ARPT AT NIGHT WITHOUT THE USE OF RWY LIGHTS, THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RWY ON THE GRASS. THE ACFT THEN COLLIDED WITH THE VASI LIGHTS, THE LANDING GEAR WAS SEVERED, & THE ACFT SLID TO A STOP.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,979 hours in all; 52 in this make and model; 83 in the last 90 days; 2,979 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,355 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 14, 1986; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TPA Tampa FL at 1:30 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 3,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 060° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:48 am from PIE, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N9272C the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA86LA153.