# Incident 19970814029659I: Piper PA32260, Asheville, NC, August 14, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 14, 1997, 02:00 local time
- Place: Asheville, NC
- Airport: Asheville Regional
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Ground Taxi, Other Airplane
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Location: 35.4361° N, 82.5420° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at ASHEVILLE RGNL (AVL), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.4361&lon=-82.5420&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3427W, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3427W) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32-260 (registry code 7103206, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-260) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA32260
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,375 total, 50 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970814029659I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: ON AUGUST 14, 1997, AT APPROXIMATELY 0200 HOURS, AN AIRCRAFT LANDED AT "AVL", THE TOWER WAS NOT IN OPERATION AT THIS TIME OF THE MORNING. THE PILOT, JAN SVENDSEN, STATED HE WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS AIRPORT, AND DID NOT KNOW WHERE TO GO TO UNLOAD THE AIRCRAFT CARGO. THE PILOT TAXIED INTO THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD RAMP AREA. THE PILOT STATED, HE NOTED LIGHTS IN THE DISTANCE AND DECIDED TO TAXI TOWARD LIGHTS. THE PILOT DID NOT REALIZE THAT WHERE HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO TAXI WAS NOT A TAXI-WAY. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST IN A DRAINAGE DITCH WITH THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSE. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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