A Lebanon doctor crashed his Piper aircraft just 20 seconds after takeoff from Lancaster Airport—without responding to tower clearance or distress calls—federal investigators revealed in a preliminary report released on Wednesday, Aug. 27.
Dr. Musaddiq Nazeeri, 58, was killed when his PA-46-500TP Malibu Meridian plummeted nose-first into a cornfield roughly a quarter-mile from the runway in Warwick Township around 8 a.m. on Sunday, July 20, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
What Happened In The Final 20 Seconds
Surveillance footage showed Dr. Nazeeri conducting a brief preflight check before boarding the aircraft, which had just been fueled with 74 gallons of Jet A and Prist additive. He requested and received IFR clearance to fly to State College. But when the tower cleared him for takeoff with a left turn on course, he did not read back the instructions, according to the NTSB report.
Instead, the plane lifted off and climbed to 650 feet MSL at 136 knots, then abruptly pitched nose-down at a rate of -1600 feet per minute. It slammed into the field just nine seconds later at a 39° angle, investigators wrote.
No Response To Tower Calls
The control tower tried multiple times to reach Nazeeri by radio after takeoff, but he never responded, the report said. The aircraft came to rest 164 feet beyond the impact crater, leaving deep imprints in the corn and strong evidence of fuel spillage—but no fire.
Conditions: Cloudy Skies, Low Ceiling
The weather at the time of the crash included broken clouds at 400 and 900 feet, 5 miles visibility, and mist, with a dew point of 24°C and winds at 3 knots from 200°, the report states…