Piper PA-28R-180 accident near Harrietstown, NY
On April 3, 2004, a Piper PA-28R-180 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Harrietstown, NY. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- April 3, 2004
- Place
- Harrietstown, NY
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28R-180 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 44.409°N, 74.195°W
- NTSB ID
- 20040409X00438
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 2, 2004, about 1925 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28R-180, N4686J, was substantially damaged after impacting terrain during an approach to the Adirondack Regional Airport (SLK), Harrietstown, New York. The certificated private pilot and passenger were fatally injured. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from the Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO), Leesburg, Virginia. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the airplane arrived at JYO the day before the accident, and was fueled with 25.9 gallons of aviation fuel. On the day of the accident, the pilot received a weather briefing from the Leesburg Flight Service Station (FSS), and subsequently filed an IFR flight plan. He then departed JYO about 1530. The flight proceeded uneventfully towards SLK, and was cleared for the ILS runway 23 approach at SLK at 1858. At 1909, the radar services were terminated. An employee at the SLK airport received a radio transmission from the accident airplane, requesting a current altimeter setting. The employee replied back with the current altimeter setting. Moments later, the employee heard a transmission from the airplane that it was on a 4 mile final for the ILS runway 23 approach. No further transmissions were received from the airplane. The airplane was located the following day by rescue personnel. It came to rest inverted, in a wooded area, about 3/4-mile from the runway 23
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to follow instrument flight rules procedures resulting in a collision with a tree. Factors related to the accident were the dark night conditions, low visibility, and low cloud ceiling.
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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.
