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MKC85LA009

1984-10-25 · COLUMBIA, Missouri, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport COU

Current FAA registration · N75DR

Make / Model
PIPER PA-32RT-300T
Year of manufacture
1978 · 6 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING TI0-540 SER (310 hp)
Seats / Engines
7 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19780809
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AA180B

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE PLT WAS HIGH ON THE ILS APPROACH AND FLEW A VFR VERY LOW CIRCLING APPROACH AFTER CLEARANCE TO CHANGE FROM RWY 2 TO RWY 20. THE TOWER CONTROLLER SAID THE ACFT WAS SO LOW THAT AT ONE POINT HE LOST SIGHT OF THE ACFT. HE ADVISED THE PLT THAT HE APPEARED TO BE LOW. THE PLT ALSO SAID THAT HE WAS LOW ON FINAL AND COULD SEE RED ON THE VASI. A TREE LINE ISLOCATED 3500 FT FROM THE APPROACH END OF RWY 20. THESE TREES ARE ABOUT 50 FT TALL AND THE ACFT CONTACTED THEM AT ABOUT 34 FT AGL. THE NIGHT WAS DARK BUT THE VISIBILITY WAS REPORTED TO BE 5 MILES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1984_MKC85LA009.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.