# Accident 20100827045199A: Piper PA-28-161, Danvers, MA, August 27, 2010 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 27, 2010, 12:26 local time - Place: Danvers, MA - Airport: Beverly Municipal Airport - Damage: Minor damage - Phase of flight: Run-Up Area - Location: 42.5839° N, 70.9161° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.5839&lon=-70.9161&mi=10 - Aircraft: N9184Y, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9184Y-2025-03-01) (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 PA-28-161 - Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Airline transport - Pilot flight hours: 3,400 total, 3,000 in this make and model, 120 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA10LA446](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA10LA446) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100827045199A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACCIDENT DATE 08/27/2010 TIME: 12:15 EDTBEVERLY MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (BVY)ONE FATAL WHEN N602PS, A CZECH SPORT PIPER AIRCRAFT, PIPER SPORT (LSA) WAS IN THE RUNUP AREA FOR RUNWAY 34 AT BEVERLY, MA. THE PIPER SPORT PILOTS WERE EXPERIENCENG A PROBLEM LOCKING THE CANOPY. THEY COULD ONLY GET ONE SIDE LOCKED BUT NOT BOTH SIDES. THERE WAS A NEW STUDENT IN THE LEFT SEAT AND A CFI ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ IN THE RIGHT SEAT. N9184Y, A PA-28-161, PIPER WARRIOR WAS ALSO IN THE RUNUP AREA PARKED DIRECTLY BEHIND THE PIPER SPORT. THE CFI IN N9184Y (MICHAEL RAUL COSTALES/FATALITY) NOTICED HIS FRIEND IN NEED OF HELP CLOSING AND LOCKING THE CANOPY ON THE PIPER SPORT. MR. COSTALES OPENED THE DOOR OF THE PIPER WARRIOR (N9184Y) CLIMBED OUT ON THE RIGHT WING AND JUMPED OFF THE LEADING EDGE OF THE WING AND WALKED DIRECTLY INTO THE MOVING PROPELLER (FROM THE REAR), KILLING HIM INSTANTLY. REPORT FROM MA STATE POLICE:MICHAEL COSTALES, 30, OF ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, WAS KILLED AT ABOUT 12:15 THIS AFTERNOON BY A PLANE PROPELLER ON RUNWAY 34 AT BEVERLY AIRPORT. HIS DEATH APPEARS TO BE ACCIDENTAL.MR. COSTALES WAS THE HEAD FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR FOR THE BEVERLY FLIGHT CENTER, AND HAD BEEN THERE FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS. INVESTIGATORS SAY THERE WAS ANOTHER PLANE ON THE RUNWAY IN FRONT OF HIS HAVING TROUBLE WITH ITS CANOPY, AND THE STUDENT AND INSTRUCTOR IN THAT PLANE WERE WORKING ON IT. THE VICTIM EXITED HIS PLANE TO ASSIST THEM AND WAS STRUCK BY THE PROPELLER OF HIS OWN PLANE.A 911 CALL WAS PLACED BY THE STUDENT IN THE FIRST PLANE AND EMERGENCY PERSONNEL RACED TO THE SCENE, BUT THE VICTIM WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD UPON THEIR ARRIVAL.THOSE RESPONDING TO THE SCENE INCLUDED THE BEVERLY POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS, NORTHEAST REGIONAL AMBULANCE, DANVERS POLICE, STATE POLICE DETECTIVES ASSIGNED TO THE OFFICE OF ESSEX DISTRICT ATTORNEY JONATHAN W. BLODGETT, THE BEVERLY AIRPORT COMMISSION, THE FAA, NTSB, MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION/AERONAUTICS, AND A CRUISER FROM THE DANVERS STATE POLICE BARRACKS. AN AUTOPSY WILL BE CONDUCTED TOMORROW AT THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER IN BOSTON.THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION INTO THIS TRAGEDY IS BEING CONDUCTED BY THE NTSB AND FAA, AS WELL AS OSHA. ## 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 ERA10LA446](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA10LA446), Aug 27, 2010: Piper PA-28-161 (N9184Y), Beverly, MA, minor damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The flight instructor's decision to exit the airplane on the taxiway with the engine still operating, and his failure to avoid the rotating propeller. ## Other reports on N9184Y (4) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 20250110002939A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250110002939A), Jan 10, 2025: Piper PA-28-161 (N9184Y), Newbury, MA, Substantial damage. It was the instructor's first flight of the day, but second lesson as he was in the aatd earlier. They had done some maneuvers at 2,500 feet MSL and he… - [Incident 20200221000749I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200221000749I), Feb 21, 2020: Piper PA-28-161 (N9184Y), Beverly, MA, Minor damage. Student pilot was performing touch and go landings. He completed 2 uneventful touch & go's. he did notice on the second landing that the LH wing seemed to dip… - [Incident 20160806013439I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160806013439I), Aug 6, 2016: Piper PA-28-161 (N9184Y), Danvers, MA, Substantial damage. Received statements and performed interviews with the ATC control tower, the flight instructor, and student pilot. The aircraft has been owned and operated by… - [Incident 20131016019049I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20131016019049I), Oct 16, 2013: Piper PA-28-161 (N9184Y), Beverly, MA, Minor damage. The pilot taxied to the run up area off of taxiway "f" headed to runway 09. The PIC stated that he turned into the taxiway area by having to weave in through… 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.