Piper PA-32-300 N600DK

Summary

On 26 June 2011 at about 01:45 local time, a Piper PA-32-300 registered N600DK, operated by Three Wing Flying Services, was involved in an accident near Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 June 2011 at 01:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States

Nearest airport

Igor Sikorsky Memorial Airport (KBDR)

Coordinates

41.1581, -73.1222

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-300

Registration

N600DK

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Three Wing Flying Services

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bridgeport → Bridgeport

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA11CA365

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a blast fence on final approach to land.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The purpose of the flight was for the pilot to regain night currency, which had lapsed two weeks prior. The pilot stated that he intended to fly three landing pattern approaches and perform three full stop landings. According to the pilot, the take off, and initial climbout to a left downwind were normal. The pilot reported that there was a slight haze in the vicinity of the airport. While turning to the base leg of the approach, the pilot trimmed the airplane for 90 mph and lowered the flaps to the "first notch." The pilot reported the he saw "two white lights" on the vertical approach slope indicator, which indicated that he was above the glideslope, so he adjusted the trim to maintain 80 mph and lowered the flaps to the "third notch." The airplane's left wing impacted a 12-foot-tall blast fence, which was located 20 feet from the end of the runway, resulting in the separation of the left wing from the fuselage. After the accident, the pilot stated that the blast fence was indistinguishable from the runway threshold markings. The blast fence was properly marked with red and white checker markings on the interior side and was not required to be lit by Federal Aviation Administration facility requirements. The pilot was familiar with the airport.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.