Piper PA-32R-300 accident near Richmond, Virginia, March 9, 1999
On March 9, 1999 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-32R-300, registered N5454F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Richmond, Virginia (Richmond Int. 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
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation which resulted in flight into icing weather conditions. A factor related to the accident was restricted visibility through the icy windshield during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 9, 1999 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Richmond, Virginia · Richmond Int. Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N5454F · no longer on the register · serial 32R-7780012
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed in VMC conditions towards the destination airport. As the flight progressed, the cloud base began to lower and the visibility decreased. Unable to maintain VFR, the pilot obtained an IFR clearance and was told to climb to 2,000, then to 4,000 feet. While climbing from 2,000 feet to 4,000 feet, ice accumulation was noticed on the windshield of the airplane. Level at 4,000 feet, the ice accumulation continued, and the airplane descended back to 2,000 feet where ice no longer accumulated. On approach, as the airplane descended through a cloud layer about 500 feet from the ground, the ice began to shed from the airplane. Due to ice remaining on the windshield, the pilot had difficulty judging the distance to the runway and had to look through the side window of the airplane to maintain visual reference with the ground. The airplane touched down on the runway hard, and the main landing gear pushed up through the wings. Records revealed that the pilot did not obtain a weather briefing from FSS. An AIRMET was issued for light occasional moderate rime and mixed icing in clouds and precipitation below 22,000 feet along the pilot's route of flight.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,700 hours in all; 300 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 1,650 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,590 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 3, 1999; 125 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Ram Air Frieght
The flight
- Departed from: PHF Newport News VA at 11:00 pm
- Destination: RIC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 20, 6,607 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 030° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:20 pm from RIC, 1 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.