# Accident 19980312003139A: Piper PA28180, Mocksville, NC, March 12, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: March 12, 1998, 18:10 local time - Place: Mocksville, NC - Airport: Twin Lakes - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Final Approach - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 35.9295° N, 80.3995° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.9295&lon=-80.3995&mi=10 - Aircraft: N7826N, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7826N-2013-02-27) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28-180 (registry code 7102808, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-180) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28180 - Reported engine: LYC O360A4A - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 2,015 total, 1,050 in this make and model - NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA98FA101](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98FA101) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980312003139A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON MARCH 12, 1998, ABOUT 1810 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-28-180D, N7826N, REGISTERED TO A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL, COLLIDED WITH TREES WHILE APPROACHING TO LAND NO RUNWAY 27, AT TWIN LAKES AIRPORT ADVANCE, NORTH CAROLINA, WHILE ON A TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND THE PRIVATE RATED PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE PASSENGER RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE FLIGHT LAST DEPARTED CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, THE SAME DAY, ABOUT 1612. THE PASSENGER STATED THEY FLEW WEST TO EAST FROM CHATTANOOGA TO ADVANCE. THEY APPROACHED WITH THE AIRPORT TO THE LEFT AND TURNED ONTO FINAL APPROACH TO LAND TOWARD THE WEST. NEITHER HE NOR THE PILOT WERE WEARING SUNGLASSES OR HAD THE AIRCRAFTS SUN VISOR DOWN. AS THEY LINED UP WITH THE RUNWAY, HE LOOKED OUT THE FRONT WINDSHIELD AND WAS BLINDED AND DISORIENTED BY THE SUN. THE SUN WASDI RECTLY AT THE END OF THE RUNWAY, OVER THE RUNWAY. HE THEN REALIZED HE WAS LOOKING AT THE RUNWAY THROUGH TREE BRANCHES. THEY COLLIDED WITH THE BRANCHES AND HE THEN FELT A LARGE IMPACT. THE PILOTS BODY CAME BETWEEN HIMSELF AND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. HE BECAME UNCONSCIOUS AND NEXT AWOKE TRAPPED IN THE WRECKAGE. A WITNESS REPORTED HEARING THE ENGINE OF THE AIRCRAFT ACCELAERATE TO HIGH POWER FOLLOWED BY THE SOUND OF THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDING WITH TREES AND CRASHING TO THE GROUND. A SHORT TIME LATER, HE FOUND THE WRECKAGE OF THE AIRCRAFT AT THE EDGE OF A WOODED AREA NEAR THE RUNWAY. A PILOT WHO DEPARTED ON RUNWAY 27 SHORTLY BEFORE THE ACCIDENT REPORTED VISIBILITY WAS RESTRICTED BY THE SETTING SUN DIRECTLY DOWN THE RUNWAY TO THE WEST. (-23) ON FINAL APPROACH TO RUNWAY 27, AIRCRAFT STRUCK 60' TREES APPROXIMATELY 300' FROM RUNWAY THRESHOLD, CAUSING OUTBOARD 5' SECTION OF LEFT WING TO SEPARATE. AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST NOSEDOWN ON ITS LEFT SIDE. INDICATIONS OF ENGINE POWER WERE PRESENT. PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED; PASSENGER RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES. ACCORDING TO PASSENGER STATEMENT, THE SETTING SUN WAS CREATING A BLINDING GLARE, WHICH MAY HAVE CAUSED THE PILOT TO MISJUDGE THE AIRCRAFT'S PROXIMITY TO THE TREES. PILOT WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE AIRPORT AND THE APPROACH. NO MECHANICAL DIFFICULTIES NOTED. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB MIA98FA101](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98FA101), Mar 12, 1998: Piper PA-28-180D (N7826N), Advance, NC, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's improper planned visual approach and glide path in diminished visual conditions due to sun-glare and his delayed go-around resulting in the aircraft colliding with trees on final approach. ## Other reports on N7826N (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19800427046639I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19800427046639I), Apr 27, 1980: Piper PA28180 (N7826N), Dallas, TX, Minor damage. Student pilot landing, bounced, landed hard. Bent prop. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.