Piper PA-24-250 accident near Montgomery, NY
On October 3, 1994, a Piper PA-24-250 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Montgomery, NY. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- October 3, 1994
- Place
- Montgomery, NY
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-250 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.521°N, 74.230°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001206X02501
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On October 2, 1994, at approximately 2000 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-24-250, N8397P, owned and piloted by Henry T. Dargan, of Selkirk, New York, struck trees while on approach to runway 26 at Orange County Airport, Montgomery, New York. The airplane was destroyed and the pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the business flight which was operated under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at South Albany Airport, South Bethlehem, New York. As it neared the Orange County Airport, the pilot established radio contact with the UNICOM operator at the airport. The pilot requested the runway lights be turned on and he was told how to activate the pilot controlled lighting. He was also advised that runway 3 was the preferred runway. This was acknowledge and no further communications were heard from the pilot. The UNICOM operator reported the runway lights were activated to the high position. A witness near the accident site reported hearing the airplane strike a tree and then heard the engine increase in power, followed by a crash a few seconds later. The airplane came to rest, upside down, 170 feet from the tree it had struck. The accident occurred during the hours of darkness at location, 41 degrees, 30 minutes North and 74 degrees, 15 minutes West. OTHER DAMAGE The airplane came to rest in a pre-revolutionary war cemetery. The wooden railed fence was destroyed on two sides and the ground was disturbed to depth of 1 foot. There were no head stones in the area of the ground impact. PERS
Probable cause
was the failure of the pilot to maintain adequate terrain clearance on final approach which resulted in a tree strike. Factors were the night conditions and the failure of the pilot to use the recommended runway.
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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
