20020114000319A

(-23) Pilot departed lawrence, MA (lwm) bound for southbridge, MA (3B0). Pilot landed at Oxford, MA (43M) believing he was at southbridge. After touching down on the runway, the pilot attempted to take off because he thought he could not stop before the end of the runway. The aircraft failed to gain sufficient altitude to clear the trees at the end of the runway. The runway at southbridge is 3500 feet long, the runway at Oxford is 2200 feet long.(.19) on January 14, 2002, at 1210 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-180, N3997R, was substantially damaged during an aborted landing at Oxford airport (43M), Oxford, Massachusetts. The certificated private pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that originated at lawrence municipal airport (lwm), lawrence, Massachusetts, about 1130. A visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the business flight conducted under 14 CFR part 91. The pilot's intended destination was the southbridge municipal airport (3B0), southbridge, Massachusetts, which was located about 9.5 miles southwest of the Oxford airport. The pilot reported that he had prepared a "3X5" index card with "all of the airport s information" as part of his pre-flight planning, and carried an aeronautical sectional chart on board the airplane during the flight. He also said that he owned an airport facility directory (afd). As the pilot approached the area of his intended destination, he contacted the southbridge airport UNICOM and requested airport advisories. He was informed by an airport operator that runway 20 was in use. In a written statement, the pilot said: "I approached the (Oxford) airport. I assumed that this was the southbridge airport. I inspected the runway finding no other traffic. I radioed my landing intentions and I proceeded to land the aircraft. "When it appeared that I could not stop prior to reaching the end of the runway, I advanced the power in order to take-off again for a second approach. During the take-off, the aircraft could not gain enough altitude to clear the trees that are located at the north end of the runway. The right wing of the aircraft encountered the trees causing the aircraft to rotate to the right, nosed over settling though the trees, landing inverted." In a telephone conversation, the pilot said that he prepared for a short field landing on runway 20 by utilizing full flaps and stabilized airspeed. He reported that there were 30-40 foot tall trees at the approach end of the runway, "which he did not anticipate", and noted that the wind sock indicated "still winds." The pilot stated that he landed about 1/3 of the way down the runway, which "was longer down the runway than he would have liked, and that was part of the problem." During landing roll-out, the pilot said that he "tried to avoid braking, because of the runway conditions," which he described as "snow, patchy ice." As the airplane came over a rise, the pilot noticed a snow bank located at the end of the runway and decided to abort the landing. With less than half of the runway length available, he applied power and tried to establish a climb, but was unable to clear the trees. Oxford airport was an uncontrolled airport with a unicom/common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) of 122.8. The airport had one runway, which was aligned 02/20. It was a 2,047 foot long and 50 foot wide asphalt runway with trees located at the approach end of runway 20. Examination of airport information revealed that the runway was in poor condition with grass growing through cracks in the runway pavement. Southbridge municipal airport was also an uncontrolled airport with a unicom/ctaf of 122.8. The airport had two runways, which were aligned 02/20 and 10/28. Runway 02/20 was an asphalt runway that was 3,500 feet long and 75 feet wide, with trees located at the end of runway 20. Runway 10/28 was a turf runway that was 1,450 feet long and 100 feet wide. A federal aviation administration (FAA) inspector examined the airplane at the site on January 14, 2002. According to the inspector, the airplane came to rest inverted in a wooded area beyond the approach end of runway 02, and had sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane or engine. Examination of pages from the pilot's logbook revealed that he had about 156 total flight hours, of which 40 hours were in make and model. A review of the Piper PA-28-180 landing distance performance chart revealed that with a paved, level, dry runway, with no wind, and maximum braking, the airplane required approximately 1,190 feet to land over a 50 foot obstacle. Weather at worcester regional airport, about 7 nautical miles to the north, at 1221, was reported as wind from 260 degrees at 7 knots gusting to 18 knots, winds variable between 240 and 300 degrees, visibility 10 statute miles, few clouds at 11,000 feet, temperature 42 degrees f, dewpoint 48 degrees f, and altimeter setting 30.02 inches hg.