- Date
- September 6, 2023, 23:00 local (Sep 7, 2023, 03:00 UTC)
- Place
- Norwood, MA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N400RWPiper PA24
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
- 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
- 20230906019329A
- Case key
- 193025
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 failure to fly an appropriate glide path during the landing approach, which resulted in a collision with approach lights and the ground short of the intended runway.
Findings · 2
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 private pilot and passenger proceeded on the cross-country nigh flight and on arrival near the destination airport the pilot stated that he was instructed by air traffic control to descend through class B airspace on a straight-in approach to the runway, which required him to descend at a rate of about 1,000 ft-per-minute. While flying the straight-in approach he indicated that he was, “a little behind on the aircraft as we descended.” With the lights and the runway in sight he descended too quickly on final approach and impacted airport approach lighting then the ground short of the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N400RW
- Reported as
- Piper PA24 (400)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 26-63
- Built
- 1964
- Airframe hours
- 3,871
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-720-A1A, 400 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 2023
- Departed
- ACK · Nantucket, MA
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- OWD · Norwood Memorial Airport, runway 35, 4,007 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B, Auto-pilot
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
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 5, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 587 total · 39 in this make and model · 70 in the last 90 days · 35 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.76 inHg
- Observed at
- KOWD, 0.43 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KOWD 070253Z AUTO 00000KT 8SM CLR 23/21 A2976 RMK AO2 SLP075 T02330206 50003=
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 13, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.4 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.