# Incident 20080711840239I: Piper PA28161, Lawrence, MA, July 11, 2008 - Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 11, 2008, 10:00 local time - Place: Lawrence, MA - Airport: Lawrence Municipal - Damage: Minor damage - Phase of flight: Normal Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 42.7170° N, 71.1235° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at LAWRENCE MUNI (LWM), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.7170&lon=-71.1235&mi=10 - Aircraft: N260ND, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N260ND) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28-161 (registry code 7102803, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-161) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28161 - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 120 total, 110 in this make and model, 5 in the last 90 days - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080711840239I ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) N260ND, PA-28-161, A PIPER CHEROKEE, MADE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING IN A FIELD AT 791 EAS BROADWAY IN HAVERHILL MA DUE TO A COMPLETE ELECTRICAL FAILURE AT 10:00 EDT, 07/11/2008. THERE WERE NO INJURIES REPORTED AND ONLY MINOR DAMGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. THERE WAS NO ATC INVOLVEMENT. THE PILOT, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, WITH HIS SON, DEPARTED HANSCOM FIELD (BEDFOR MA) TO DO SOME TOUCH AND GO'S AT LAWRENCE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AND THEN CONTINUE ON THE COAST TO DO SOME SIGHTSEEING BEFORE RETURNING TO HANSCOM FIELD. SOME TIME DURING THE FLIGHT THE ENGNE ALTERNATOR FAILED. THE MAIN BATTERY IMMEDIATELY BEGAN DISCHARGING BECAUSE IT WAS RUNNING ALL OF THE AVIONICS AND LIGHTS. AFTER APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR THE PILOT NOTICED THAT ALL THE RADIOS, AVIONICS, INCLUDING THE ENGINE INSTRUMENTS WERE NOT OPERATIONAL. THIS INCLUDED THE ENGINE OIL PRESSURE GAUGE THAT ALSO WENT TO ZERO. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THOUGHT THAT THE ENGINE OIL PRESSURE GAUGE WAS READING ZERO AND THERE WAS NO OIL PRESSURE IN THE ENGINE. HE ASSUMED THAT THE ENGINE COULD FAIL AT ANY TIME. SINCE ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ IS A LOW TIME PRIVATE PILOT WITH APPROXIMATELY 120 HOURS, HE THOUGHT HE SHOULD NOT TAKE A CHANCE WITH A POSSIBLE BAD ENGINE OVER A DENSELY POPULATED AREA. HE DECIDED TO LAND IN AN OPEN FIELD THAT HE OBSERVED BELOW. AS IT TURNED OUT IT WAS ONLY A BAD ENGINE ALTERNATOR AND HE HAD A DEAD BATTERY. THE ENGINE OIL PRESSURE WAS STILL GOOD BUT THE PILOT HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING THIS. THE OIL PRESSURE GAUGE IS OPERATED BY BATTERY DC CURRENT. IT SEEMS AT THE TIME ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ MADE A PRUDENT DECISION GIVEN HIS LOW TIME AS A PILOT AND THE INFORMATION HE HAD TO WORK WITH AT THE TIME. THE AIRCRAFT DAMAGE INCLUDED A BENT PROPELLER, A BENT ENGINE MOUNT, SOME MINOR NOSE GEAR DAMAGE AND A BENT LEFT MAIN GEAR STRUT. ## Other reports on N260ND (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 20100922044769A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100922044769A), Sep 22, 2010: Piper PA-28-161 (N260ND), Marlboro, MA, Substantial damage. Pilot rented aircraft from east coast aero club at norwood airport. Pilot was returning to kowd after completing touch and goes at kbed and decided to land at… - [Incident 20030212005999I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030212005999I), Feb 12, 2003: Piper PA28161 (N260ND), Crafton, ND, Substantial damage. (-23) This incident occurred when the aircraft, being operated under 14 CFR part 91 as a solo training flight under an approved course of training at a 14 CFR… 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.