ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 13923
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| Date: | Wednesday 21 January 1976 |
| Time: | 16:31 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-39 Twin Comanche C/R |
| Owner/operator: | Wemco Crane And Manufacturing Co |
| Registration: | N8868Y |
| MSN: | 39-23 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 7 miles WNW of Clover Lick, Pocahontas County, West Virginia -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Executive |
| Departure airport: | Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport, Roanoke, Virginia (ROA/KROA) |
| Pittsburgh International Airport, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (PIT/KPIT) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) January 21, 1976 when crashed seven miles west-north-west of Clover Lick, Pocahontas County, West Virginia (at approximate co ordinates 38.34 N, 80.05 W). All three persons on board (pilot and two passengers) were killed. Aircraft initially posted as "missing" until wreckage recovered January 29, 1976. Three years later, almost to the day, there was a legal case in which the widow of one of the passengers sued the estate of the pilot. According to the following contemporary press report (see link #4):
"$80,000 to Widow In Plane Crash Suit
The widow of a Coraopolis businessman killed in a January 1976 plane crash has accepted an $80,000 settlement of a suit she brought after the accident. Robert D. Baker of 1515 Coraopolis Heights Road and pilot Nicholas T. Courtney were killed Jan. 21, 1976, in the crash of a twin-engine plane owned by Wemco Crane & Mfg. Co. Baker, vice-president of Pitt Metals & Chemicals Inc., was on a business trip to Florida.
There were no witnesses to the crash near Clover Lick, W. Va. Baker's widow, Marilyn, sued Courtney's estate and the Wemco firm on behalf of herself and her three children. Of the $80,000, $23,100 is to go in fees and compensation for expenses to Mrs. Baker's attorney, Thomas J. Folan, who prepared the case for trial."
Also, according to the official NTSB report into the accident:
"PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
PILOT IN COMMAND - ATTEMPTED OPERATION W/KNOWN DEFICIENCIES IN EQUIPMENT
MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - AIRFRAME ICE
FACTOR(S)
WEATHER - ICING CONDITIONS-INCLUDES SLEET,FREEZING RAIN,ETC.
WEATHER BRIEFING - BRIEFED BY FLIGHT SERVICE PERSONNEL, IN PERSON
WEATHER FORECAST - FORECAST SUBSTANTIALLY CORRECT
MISSING AIRCRAFT - LATER RECOVERED"
Registration N8868Y cancelled by the FAA on June 19, 1976
Accident investigation:
|
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: IAD76AI053 at https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=51688&key=0
2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=8868Y
3. http://planecrashmap.com/plane/wv/N8868Y/
4. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania February 3, 1979 Page 12: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/88090117/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clover_Lick,_West_Virginia
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Feb-2008 12:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 20-Jun-2013 11:37 | Uli Elch | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Phase, Nature] |
| 23-Mar-2017 16:40 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Mar-2017 16:56 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
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