Comair Flight 444
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- Near Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Boone County, Kentucky, United States
 The wreckage of the aircraft | |
| Occurrence | |
|---|---|
| Date | October 8, 1979 |
| Summary | Engine failure and Pilot error leading to crash |
| Site |
|
| Aircraft | |
 A Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident | |
| Aircraft type | Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain |
| Operator | Comair |
| Registration | N6642L |
| Flight origin | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) |
| Destination | Dayton, Ohio |
| Occupants | 8 |
| Passengers | 7 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 8 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Comair Flight 444 was a chartered domestic passenger flight operated by Comair, which crashed shortly after takeoff from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on October 8, 1979. The flight was en route to Dayton, Ohio. All eight were killed due the accident.[1]
The NTSB concluded that the crash was resulted from a loss of control caused by a partial loss of power from one engine during takeoff. The NTSB recommended increased scrutiny of pilot training programs and weight-and-balance enforcement for small commuter flights.
The aircraft, a twin-engine Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain, took off from Runway 27 at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) in the early evening.
After approximately 1,500 to 2,000 feet of takeoff roll, the aircraft lifted off abruptly and began a shallow climb, reaching an altitude of about 150 feet above the runway. Shortly after liftoff, the pilot reported an engine power loss, and the tower controller cleared the aircraft to return for landing. Within seconds, the aircraft rolled sharply to the right, inverted, and entered a nose-down descent before impacting the ground. Witnesses stated that the aircraft appeared to struggle to gain altitude and banked erratically before crashing in an open field approximately 9000 ft from the runway.[2][3][4]
The aircraft was completely destroyed.[4]
Aircraft and crew
The aircraft involved was a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain, registered to Comair, a regional airline based in Cincinnati. The pilot was William Paul, 30, of Marysville, Indiana. He held a commercial pilot license but had limited experience in multi-engine aircraft.[5]