Piper PA-28-140 accident near Pittstown, NJ
On December 31, 2008, a Piper PA-28-140 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Pittstown, NJ. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 31, 2008
- Place
- Pittstown, NJ
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-140 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 40.592°N, 75.005°W
- NTSB ID
- 20081231X43053
Official records · ERA09FA116
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 30, 2008, about 1900 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-140, N95156, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain while on final approach to Alexandria Airport (N85), Pittstown, Pennsylvania. The certificated private pilot/owner was seriously injured and the certificated flight instructor was fatally injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local instructional flight, which was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. During an interview, and in a written statement, the pilot stated that on the day of the accident he contacted the fixed base operator at N85 to schedule a flight with a flight instructor for the purpose of training toward an instrument rating, and for the pilot to regain his night flying currency. After departing on the accident flight, the pilot and the flight instructor flew to the west for about 15 minutes, and after it was legally night, they returned to the airport by flying a practice instrument approach to runway 8. The pilot entered the left downwind leg of the traffic pattern to land on runway 26. The pilot thought the airplane was a "little fast" at 100 knots, and that the airplane may have been about 100 feet below the published traffic pattern altitude. The pilot turned from the downwind leg to the base leg of the traffic pattern, and recalled that at some point the airplane began striking trees. The pilot could not recall any other events that transpired after that point. The pilot additionally stated that
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate clearance from trees during the night landing approach and the flight instructor's inadequate remedial action.
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Browse: New Jersey · 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.
