# Incident 20060430011309I: Piper PA32RT300T, Hamilton, NY, April 30, 2006

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 30, 2006, 15:30 local time
- Place: Hamilton, NY
- Airport: Hamilton Municipal Airport
- Phase of flight: Climb
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.8434° N, 75.5612° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at HAMILTON MUNI (VGC), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.8434&lon=-75.5612&mi=10
- Aircraft: N36523, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N36523) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32RT-300T (registry code 7103216, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32rt-300t) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA32RT300T
- Reported engine: LYC TIO540*
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 0
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060430011309I

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON 4/30/06, AT APPROXIMATELY 1530E, THE PILOT PIC ^PRIVACY DATA O^ TOOK OFF FROM RUNWAY 35; ALL INSTRUMENTS APPEARED TO BE WORKING NORMALLY. AT APPROXIMATELY 83 KIAS, AS THE PLANE WAS CLIMBING THRU 100 FEET, THE PIC AND HIS WIFE WHO WAS SITTING IN THE RIGHT FRONT SEAT BEGAN TO SMELL SMOKE. PIC RETRACTED THE LANDING GEAR AT APPROXIMATELY 400-500 FEET AGL AND STARTED A LEFT HAND TURN TO CROSSWIND RUNWAY 17 PATTERN TO RETURN TO THE AIRPORT AND LAND. AT THIS POINT, THE PIC AND HIS WIFE STARTED SEEING SMOKE. PIC CALLED ON THE RADIO THAT HE WAS RETURNING TO THE AIRPORT. AS PIC WAS TURNING HE COULD SEE A CESSNA TAKING OFF. CESSNA PILOT ASKED IF HE HAD AN EMERGENCY, PIC TOLD HIM YES, AND THAT HE HAD SMOKE IN THE COCKPIT. CESSNA PILOT THEN MADE AN EXPEDIENT RIGHT HAND TURN DEPARTURE OFF OF RUNWAY 17 TO CLEAR THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT ^PRIVAC^ THEN LOWERED THE LANDING GEAR; HOWEVER, IT WAS NECESSARY TO ADD POWER DUE TO THE DRAG INDUCED BY THE LANDING GEAR. AS A RESULT, THE SMOKE THEN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED TO THE POINT WHERE IT WAS BECOMING DIFFICULT FOR THE PIC TO SEE THE INSTRUMENTS. PIC THEN BECAME CONCERNED THAT HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SEE OUTSIDE FOR VISUAL REFERENCES, HE BEGAN OPENING UP VENTS, ESPECIALLY THE SIDE WINDOW. PIC STATED FROM THE ALTITUDE AND POSITION THAT HE WAS AT, THE RUNWAY ENVIRONMENT WAS NOT CONDUCIVE FOR A SAFE LANDING. PIC THEN OBSERVED A FIELD WHICH WAS SUITABLE TO LAND IN. WHILE INCREASING POWER, SMOKE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY, PIC THEN MADE A DECISION TO PUT THE AIRCRAFT ON THE GROUND IMMEDIATELY. PIC MAINTAINED ALTITUDE AND TURNED TO APPROXIMATELY A 180 DEGREE HEADING TO CLEAR TELEPHONE POLES, TREES, AND A COUNTY ROAD. AFTER TOUCHDOWN, PIC ATTEMPTED TO KEEP THE NOSE UP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE FOR A SOFT FIELD LANDING. THE ROLL OUT WAS APPROXIMATELY LESS THEN 800 FEET IN A FIELD WITH HIGH GRASS (APPROXIMATELY 7 INCHES). AFTER THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP, PIC AND PASSENGERS EXITED THE AIRCRAFT. THERE WAS NO POST LANDING FIRE, SMOKE, OR DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT AND POLICE ARRIVED AT THE SCENE FOR ASSISTANCE. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED.

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.