- Date
- November 19, 2020, 19:25 local (Nov 20, 2020, 00:25 UTC)
- Place
- Lititz, PA · was on taxiway E, clrd for t/o rwy 13, attempted t/o from taxiway E
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N9086WPiper PA28
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Wrong surface or wrong airport
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20201119014689A
- Case key
- 102324
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s inadvertent attempt to takeoff on a taxiway, rather than a runway, which resulted in a collision with a fence during takeoff.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that the airplane was standing at the hold short line for the runway at night. The pilot was cleared for takeoff and taxied toward the runway; however, he mistook a taxiway for the runway and attempted a takeoff. During the takeoff roll, the airplane struck a fence and came to rest inverted. The airplane’s fuselage and left wing were substantially damaged. The pilot added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9086W
- Reported as
- Piper PA28 (235)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-10690
- Built
- 1965
- Airframe hours
- 5,858
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 26, 2020 · 5 hours before
- Destination
- DMW · Westminster, MD
- Airport
- LNS · Lancaster Airport, runway 13, 4,102 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 84
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 3,347 total · 2,526 in this make and model · 3,220 as pilot in command · 27 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 130° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Observed at
- LNS, 1 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 17, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.3 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.