This article is based on the NTSB report of this accident, and is intended to bring the issues raised to our readers’ attention. It is neither intended to judge nor to reach any
definitive conclusions about the ability or capacity of any person, living or dead, or any aircraft or accessory.Pickens (3M8) at Reform, Alabama,
10 miles away. The pilot reported that
he had slowed to 80 knots and was
descending. There was a hitch: North
Pickens had runway lights, but they
weren’t turned on. There was also no
rotating beacon. The controller, who
was evidently quite familiar with
the area, took steps to have someone
go to the airport and turn the lights
on and, in the meantime, described
the surrounding landmarks to the
pilot. The efficiency of the control-
ler was matched by the coolness of
the pilot, who reported that he was at
5,000 feet descending about 800 feet
a minute.
Eight minutes after the pilot first
reported his situation, the controller
told him the airport was at 12 o’clock
and two miles. The pilot replied that
he was at 2,000 feet. “I still don’t
have anything in sight. There’s a
Texaco station or something right in
front of me.”
The controller said that the Texaco
station was close to the airport. It is,
in fact, about 3,000 feet due west of
the threshold of Runway 1.
The controller told the pilot, who
was looking at the lights of the tiny
crossroads town of Reform, that the
runway was now off his left wing.
“Sure wish I had some power,” the
pilot remarked. He now knew he had
missed the airport and his time was
short. “I’m going for the dark spot
that’s just south of a major route,
looks like a highway, through the
center of town.”
The pilot of a Baron who was on
the frequency relayed a final mes-
sage from the Cherokee pilot. “He
was going to stall it into the trees.”The controller learned from the
sheriff that the airport actually did
have recently installed pilot- controlled
lighting on 122.9, and he passed the
information on to the Baron pilot, who
attempted to turn on the lights, with-
out effect. A few minutes later a car
arrived at the airport, and shortly after
that, the lights came on.
The cause of the power loss was
failure of the coils of both magnetos,
which broke down as they heated up.
Even if the pilot had performed a thor-
ough pref light inspection, or a full
annual inspection, he would not have
detected the problem. The FA A guid-
ance document for annual inspection,
AC 20-106, requires only external
inspection of magnetos.
But if he had delayed his takeoff
until the following morning, he would
have made the runway at Reform.AFTERMATH Unknowns: Known and Unknown