# Accident 20021115037832A: Piper PA32R300, Caldwell, NJ, November 15, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 15, 2002, 19:08 local time
- Place: Caldwell, NJ
- Airport: Essex County Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Collision: Midair collision, second aircraft
- Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.8753° N, 74.2814° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.8753&lon=-74.2814&mi=10
- Aircraft: N216CL, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N216CL-2003-06-16) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32R-300 (registry code 7103213, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32r-300) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA32R300
- Reported engine: LYC IO540K1G5D
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 653 total, 334 in this make and model, 7 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC03FA021](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC03FA021) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20021115037832A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON NOVEMBER 15, 2002, AT 1908 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A MOONEY M10 (CADET), N9502V, AND A PIPER PA-32R-300 (LANCE), N216CL, WERE SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN THEY COLLIDED DURING AN APPROACH TO ESSEX COUNTY AIRPORT (CDW), CALDWELL, NEW JERSEY. THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT IN THE MOONEY, AND THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT IN THE PIPER WERE FATALLY INJURED. NIGHT VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR EITHER FLIGHT. THE PERSONAL FLIGHTS WERE CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR, PART 91, THE MOONEY HAD BEEN CONDUCTING TOUCH-AND-GO LANDINGS ON RUNWAY 22 AT CDW. THE PIPER DEPARTED ALEXANDRIA AIRPORT (N85), PITTSTOWN, NEW JERSEY, ABOUT 1830. AT 1905, THE PILOT OF THE PIPER ESTABLISHED COMMUNICATION WITH THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER (ACTC), AND REPORTED THAT HE WAS ABOUT 7.5 MILES WEST OF THE AIRPORT AT 2,500 FEET MSI. THE TOWER CONTROLLER ACKNOWLEDGED THE TRANSMISSION, AND INSTRUCTED THE PILOT OF THE PIPER TO REPORT A RIGHT DOWNWIND FOR RUNWAY 22. THERE WERE NO FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE CONTROLLER AND THE PILOT OF THE PIPER. AT THE TIME OF THE COLLISION, THE TOWER CONTROLLER WAS IN COMMUNICATION WITH SIX AIRPLANES, INCLUDING THE TWO ACCIDENT AIRPLANES. THE PILOT OF THE MOONEY HAD JUST COMPLETED A GO-AROUND; AND WAS CLIMBING AND TURNING NORTHWEST ONTO A CROSSWIND LEG FOR RUNWAY 22. THE PIPER WAS ENTERING THE TRAFFIC PATTERN FROM THE WEST, TRAVELING IN AN EASTERLY DIRECTION, BUT HAD NOT REACHED THE DOWNWIND LEG. THE AIRPLANES COLLIDED AT AN ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 1,300 FEET MSI. THE FINAL FORENSIC TOXICOLOGY REPORT(-23 AMENDMENT) THE FINAL FORENSIC TOXICOLOGY REPORT FOR MR. DISARRO INDICATES BARBITUATES WERE DISCOVERED DURING CHEMICAL SCREENING, THE FOLLOWING SUBSTANCES WERE DETECTED: 0.4 (UG/ML, UG/G) BUTALBITAL DETECTED IN URINE;0.609 (UG/ML, UG/G) BUTALBITAL DETECTED IN BLOOD; CHLORPHENIRAMINE DETECTED IN URINE; DIPHENHYDRAMINE PRESENT IN URINE; DIPHENHYDRAMINE DETECTED IN LIVER; METOPROLOL DETECTED IN URINE; METOPROLOL DETECTED IN LIVER.

## Other aircraft in the event

- N9502V, Univar M10: [Accident 20021115037831A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20021115037831A)

## 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 NYC03FA021](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC03FA021), Nov 16, 2002: Piper PA-32R-300 (N216CL), Fairfield, NJ, substantial damage, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The inadequate visual lookout of both pilots. Factors in the accident were the FAA controller's failure to provide a traffic advisory, the improper decision among the three controllers to leave only…

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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