7/24/2023 0 Comments Piper comanche![]() A three-foot hole indicated the area of initial impact, and debris was scattered over an area 166 feet (51 m) long and 130 feet (40 m) wide. At 6:10 am on March 6, the wreckage was discovered. By 11:30 pm, a search party was organized consisting of the Highway Patrol, Civil Defense, and local officers who searched the area throughout the night. Aftermath and investigation Īfter the witness notified the Tennessee Highway Patrol, two law enforcement officers performed a preliminary search of the area around 7 pm, but they found nothing. ![]() Hughes had taken possession of the airplane in 1962, less than a year before the crash, and was an inexperienced pilot with a total flight time of 160.2 hours, including 44:25 logged in the Piper Comanche. Hughes held a valid private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engined land rating, but was not rated to fly under instrument flight rules. The owner and pilot of the aircraft, Ramsey (Randy) Dorris Hughes, 34, was also Patsy Cline's manager and the son-in-law of Cowboy Copas. The aircraft had passed its last FAA inspection on 19 April 1962. The Comanche's maximum takeoff weight was 2,800 lb (1,300 kg) with a total fuel load of 60 US gallons (230 L), giving a range of 600 nm at 75% power including a 45-minute reserve. Serial Number 24-2144 was equipped with a Lycoming O-540-A1D5 250 hp (190 kW) normally aspirated engine, turning a constant-speed propeller. Registered as N7000P, the aircraft was a three-year-old PA-24-250 Comanche four-seat, light, single-engined airplane manufactured in 1960 by Piper Aircraft. ![]() The witness described hearing a dull-sounding crash, followed by complete silence. The aircraft was destroyed on impact and all four occupants were killed. Route 70 and 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Camden. Īt 6:29 pm, the aircraft crashed into a wooded, swampy area 1 mile (1.6 km) north of U.S. The engine noise increased and seconds later a white light appeared from the overcast, descending in a 45° angle. A short time later, an aviation-qualified witness, about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Camden, heard a low-flying aircraft on a northerly course. The reported weather at that time was a ceiling of 500 feet (150 m), visibility of 5 miles (8.0 km), temperature of 43 ☏ (6 ☌), gusty and turbulent wind from the east at 20 miles per hour (17 kn), and cloudy. After takeoff, no further radio contact was made with N7000P. Hughes requested another weather briefing by radio, then taxied into position and took off at 6:07 pm. Īfter refueling, the passengers and pilot reboarded the Piper Comanche. He expressed concern about a 2,049-foot (625 m) high television transmitting tower north of Nashville, then stated that he would attempt the flight and return if the weather conditions worsened. Hughes then informed Neal he would fly east towards the Tennessee River and navigate to Nashville from there, as he was familiar with the terrain in that area. ![]() Hughes then asked if the Dyersburg runways were lit at night in case he had to return and Neal replied that they were. He was informed by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employee Leroy Neal that local conditions were marginal for VFR flight and weather at the destination airport was below VFR minima. Hughes later made contact with Dyersburg Regional Airport in Dyersburg, Tennessee, and landed there at 5:05 pm, where he requested a weather briefing for the remainder of the flight to Nashville. Later that afternoon, the aircraft landed to refuel at Rogers Municipal Airport in Rogers, Arkansas, and departed 15 minutes later. It was operating as an unscheduled cross-country passenger flight under visual flight rules (VFR) to its destination of Nashville, 411 nautical miles (761 km 473 mi) to the southeast. Investigators concluded that the crash was caused by the non-instrument-rated pilot's decision to operate under visual flight rules in instrument meteorological conditions.Īround 2 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 1963, the Piper Comanche, piloted by Randy Hughes, departed Fairfax Municipal Airport in Kansas City, Kansas. Shortly after takeoff from a refueling stop, pilot Hughes lost control of the small Piper PA-24 Comanche while flying in low-visibility conditions, and subsequently crashed into a wooded area, leaving no survivors. The accident occurred as the three artists were returning home to Nashville, Tennessee, after performing in Kansas City, Kansas. On March 5, 1963, American country music performers Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, and Hawkshaw Hawkins were killed in an airplane crash near Camden, Tennessee, United States, along with the pilot Randy Hughes. ![]()
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