Piper PA-30 incident near Tallahassee, Florida, February 19, 1990
On February 19, 1990 at about 7:28 am local time, a Piper PA-30, registered N7574Y, suffered minor damage in an incident near Tallahassee, Florida (Tallahassee airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
PROPER GLIDEPATH NOT MAINTAINED.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 19, 1990 · about 7:28 am local time
- Place
- Tallahassee, Florida · Tallahassee
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-30 · all PA-30s on the register
- Registration
- N7574Y · registry record · serial 30-640
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER EXECUTING A MISSED APPROACH THE PILOT ATTEMPTED A SECOND APPROACH. DURING THE SECOND APPROACH THE PILOT BECAME FIXATED ON THE INSTRUMENTS ALLOWING HIM TO SINK BELOW THE GUIDE PATH AND NOT PROVIDING AMPLE TIME TO RECOVER.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 23,800 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 290 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 21,600 as pilot in command; 5,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,424 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 22, 1990; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-320-B1A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Academy Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: ATL Atlanta GA at 5:26 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0, 6,065 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 070° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:32 am from TLH
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.