Piper PA28R-180 accident near Reno, NV
On September 12, 1997, a Piper PA28R-180 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Reno, NV. 4 people were seriously injured. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 12, 1997
- Place
- Reno, NV
- Aircraft
- Piper PA28R-180 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 0 fatal, 4 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 39.520°N, 119.811°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X08888
NTSB summary
On September 12, 1997, at 1350 hours Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA28R-180, N69645, descended into a fence while on a right crosswind in the traffic pattern at the Reno, Nevada, airport. The aircraft sustained substantial damage and the pilot/owner and three passengers suffered serious injuries. There was no fire, nor were there any ground injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The personal flight departed from the Ogden, Utah, airport at 0908, and was terminating at the time of the accident. The pilot reported that after completing the normal approach checklist for initial approach into Reno he noticed that the landing gear down indication lights did not come on. He also stated that he did not feel or hear the gear come down. He then relayed that information to Reno Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and they suggested that he execute a flyby so they could visually check the landing gear position. The tower confirmed that the gear did appear to be down. After passing the tower, the pilot reported that he noticed that the airspeed was decreasing so he "dropped the nose a little bit to establish climb." He then added full throttle with no response. The pilot said that he heard the engine sputtering and realized that a "crash was imminent" so he reduced the throttle, turned off the fuel shutoff valve, and pulled the prop back. He asked his front seat passenger to push in all the circuit breakers for him. The aircraft impacted a cyclone fence surrounding the tennis court at a middle school. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed during a go-around, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/mush. Factors in the accident were: the pilot's lack of qualification in the aircraft; the FAA pilot certification system's failure to transfer the medical limitations imposed on the pilot to his private pilot certificate; the pilot's inadequate preflight and in-flight fuel planning/deci
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Browse: Nevada · 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.
