Piper PA-28-180 accident near Melville, NY
On June 1, 1997, a Piper PA-28-180 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Melville, NY. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 1, 1997
- Place
- Melville, NY
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-180 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 40.780°N, 73.410°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X07933
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 31, 1997, about 2113 eastern daylight time, a Piper, PA-28-180, N6337J, was destroyed as it impacted the terrain during a missed approach at the Republic Airport (FRG), Farmingdale, New York. The certificated private pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. Night instrument meteorological conditions existed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from the Sikorsky Memorial Airport (BDR), Bridgeport, Connecticut, about 2045. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Flight Service Station recording of weather briefings given that day, indicated that the pilot received a weather briefing about 1230. The departure time from FRG was not discovered, but upon landing at BDR, a lineman for a Fixed Base Operator stated that the airplane parked at their facility, and then, the occupants took a taxicab to a local eatery. A waiter at the restaurant stated that the party finished their dinner and left about 2000. The Federal Aviation Administration radar tapes and transcripts of the flight were reviewed. The transcripts revealed that after departure from BDR, the pilot requested an instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance to FRG. The controller asked if the pilot filed an IFR flight plan and the pilot replied that he had not. The controller assigned a transponder code, an altitude and gave an altimeter setting, then vectored the pilot to FRG for ILS Runway 14. En route, the controller was heard questioning the pilot about his altitude. The pilot responded that "he was at 2,900 feet and as
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane. Factors to this accident were night instrument meteorological conditions with low ceiling and fog.
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Browse: New York · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
