# Accident 20010622014269A: Piper PA32R301, June 22, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: June 22, 2001, 08:57 local time - Damage: No damage - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 41.5976° N, 72.7550° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.5976&lon=-72.7550&mi=10 - Aircraft: N13VH, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N13VH-2013-06-05) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-32R-301 (registry code 7103218, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32r-301) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming IO-540 series (registry code 41530, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA32R301 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD01FA070](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD01FA070) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010622014269A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19)ON JUNE 22, 2001, AT 0857 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-32R-301, N13VH, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH WOODED TERRAIN IN GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT, DURING THE MISSED APPROACH SEGMENT OF THE INSTRUMENT LANDING SYSTEM (ILS) 16 APPROACH AT WESTCHESTER COUNTY AIRPORT (HPN), WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK. THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE FLIGHT THAT ORIGINATED AT ATLANTIC CITY MUNICIPAL/BADER FIELD (AIY), ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY, AT 0650. AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT (IFR) PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE BUSINESS FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. REVIEW OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL RECORDS REVEALED THAT THE PILOT DEPARTED AIY AND FLEW TO HPN WHERE HE RECEIVED CLEARANCE FOR THE ILS 16 APPROACH. A PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF RADAR DATA REVEALED THAT A TARGET WAS ESTABLISHED ON THE APPROACH LOCALIZER. ABOUT 1/2-MILE FROM THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 16, THE TARGET INITIATED A CLIMB, THEN BEGAN A LEFT HAND TURN TOWARDS THE EAST. THE TARGET CONTINUED TO TURN LEFT, AND THEN FLEW ON A NORTHERLY HEADING FOR ABOUT 30 SECONDS. THE TARGET THEN BEGAN A SERIES OF CLIMBING AND DESCENDING LEFT AND RIGHT HAND TURNS FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, BEFORE THE TARGET DISAPPEARED OFF RADAR. THESE MANEUVERS WERE EXECUTED WITHIN AN 1-MILE BY 1/2-MILE WIDE AREA OF AIRSPACE, ABOUT 1 MILE NORTH-NORTHEAST OF THE AIRPORT. A PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF THE HPN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER COMMUNICATIONS REVEALED THAT THE PILOT WAS CLEARED TO LAND ON RUNWAY 16. SEVERAL MINUTES LATER, THE TOWER CONTROLLER ASKED THE PILOT IF HE WAS "GOING AROUND." THE PILOT REPLIED, "THAT'S AFFIRMATIVE." THE TOWER CONTROLLER THEN DIRECTED THE PILOT TO "TURN LEFT HEADING 090, CLIMB AND MAINTAIN 2,000." THE PILOT DID NOT RESPOND, AND ATC AGAIN INSTRUCTED THE PILOT TO "TURN LEFT HEADING 090, CLIMB AND MAINTAIN 2,000." AGAIN, THE PILOT DID NOT RESPOND, AND THE TOWER CONTROLLER QUERIED HIS INTENTIONS. THE PILOT RESPONDED THAT HE WAS, "GOING TO 090 (UNINTELLIGIBLE), BUT 090 IS TO THE RIGHT." THE TOWER CONTROLLER THEN INSTRUCTED THE PILOT TO, "FLY HEADING 090, CLIMB AND MAINTAIN 2,000." THE PILOT DID NOT RESPOND. (-23) PILOT MADE MISSED APPROACH TO WESTCHESTER AIRPORT. PLANE WAS HEARD BY WITNESSES FLYING LOW OVER THEIR HOUSES IN THE VICINITY OF THE AIRPORT AND STATE THAT AT LEAST FIVE PASSES WERE MADE OVER THEIR HOMES. DUE TO EXTREME LY POOR VISIBILITY IN FOG THEY COULD NOT SEE PLANE BUT COULD TELL HE WAS VERY LOW. SEVERAL WITNESSES STATED THAT THEY HEARD THE PLANE CRASHING THROUGH TREES ACROSS THE STREET FROM THEIR HOMES AND THEN SAW PLANE ON GROUND AT WHICH TIME THE AIRCRAFT BURST INTO FLAMES. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE PILOT WAS DISORIENTED IN THE FOG AND FLYING TOO LOW. HE HIT THE TREES AT APPROXIMATELY 80 FEET OFF THE GROUND. DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE PLANE CAME TO REST ABOUT 70 FEET FROM THE TREES HE HIT AND JUDGING BY THE PATTERN OF BROKEN TREES IN A ROW IT WOULD APPEAR THAT HE WAS FLYING STRAIGHT AND LEVEL AS OPPOSED TO DIVING IN. ## 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 IAD01FA070](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD01FA070), Jun 22, 2001: Piper PA-32R-301 (N13VH), Greenwich, CT, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane while maneuvering in instrument meteorological conditions, due to spatial disorientation. Factors in the accident were the fog, and the pilot's… 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.