Piper PA-28-140 accident near Rockland, Maine, June 21, 2008
On June 21, 2008 at about 2:42 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-140, registered N8776N, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Rockland, Maine (Knox County Regional Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The non-instrument rated pilot becoming spatially disorientated after inadvertently entering instrument flight conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 21, 2008 · about 2:42 pm local time
- Place
- Rockland, Maine · Knox County Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-140 · all PA-28-140s on the register
- Registration
- N8776N · no longer on the register · serial 28-25600
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The non-instrument rated pilot was conducting a local visual flight rules (VFR) flight and had planned to stay in the traffic pattern at the non-towered airport in order to perform touch and go landings. The pilot delayed her flight, as she waited for the reported cloud layer at the airport to reach at least 1,000 feet above ground level. The pilot was seen performing a pre-flight of the airplane. The airplane was then observed taxiing for departure, departing runway 13, and entering a fog bank located immediately off the departure end of the runway. Within seconds, the airplane's engine noise was heard increasing in pitch, followed very quickly by a sound "of a thud." Eyewitness accounts of the fog bank indicated that horizontal visibility at the accident site was about 250 feet. The airplane was found inverted in a tidal flat. The pilot had flown 1 hour in the previous 12 months, which was done 2 days prior to the accident flight. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions. Given the experience of the pilot and the sudden transition from visual meteorological conditions to instrument meteorological conditions, the pilot most likely misinterpreted the acceleration of the airplane as the nose of the airplane pitching up, and applied forward elevator control to counter.
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
- VFR encounter with IMC during initial climb defining event
- Loss of visual reference during initial climb
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) during initial climb
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge › Experience/qualifications › Recent experience › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge › Experience/qualifications › Qualification/certification › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Fog › Contributed to outcome
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Fog › Awareness of condition
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Perception/orientation/illusio › Spatial disorientation › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 500 hours in all; 1 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: August 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,401.7 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 15, 2008; 13.8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RKD Rockland ME at 10:40 am
- Destination: RKD
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 13, 5,007 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,200 ft
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 2:35 pm from RKD, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.