# NTSB NYC02LA113: Piper PA-28-200, N9357N, Gettysburg, PA, June 11, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 11, 2002, 16:45 local (20:45 UTC) - Place: Gettysburg, PA - Coordinates: 39.908332, -77.20861 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.9083&lon=-77.2086&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor - Status: Completed, report June 25, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 54920 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=NYC02LA113 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/54920/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54920 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC02LA113 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to accurately compute takeoff performance and his failure to establish a positive climb resulting in a collision with trees. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, takeoff - initial climb - landed at wrong airport - performed, pilot in command - object - tree(s) - preflight planning/preparation - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - climb - not attained, pilot in command (cause) - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled ## Analysis While departing from a 1,800-foot long grass strip, the airplane remained in ground effect and would not climb. The airplane then struck a tree and a power line located about 500 feet beyond the end of the runway, shearing the right wing from the fuselage. The pilot stated that the airplane's weight at the time of the accident was about 300 pounds below the maximum gross weight. He did not report any malfunctions with the engine or airframe. Examination of the landing facility after the accident revealed that the turf was mowed to a height of about 6 inches. According to the airplane pilot's operating handbook, the takeoff performance for a paved level dry runway, at maximum gross weight, included a ground roll of about 1,000 feet, and a total distance of 2,100 feet to clear a 50-foot obstacle. ## Factual narrative On June 11, 2002, about 1645 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-200, N9357N, was substantially damaged while taking off from a private airstrip near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The certificated private pilot and passenger received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the pilot, he landed at the 1,800-foot long grass airstrip, and parked the airplane. He then inquired the landowner as to the name of the airstrip he had just landed. Since the airstrip was not the pilot's intended landing facility, he elected to depart. The pilot taxied the airplane to the end of the airstrip, and positioned it to depart diagonally, in an effort to take advantage of the wind conditions. During the takeoff, the airplane began to climb; however, it remained in ground effect. The airplane then struck a tree and a power line, shearing the right wing from the fuselage. The airplane descended back to the ground, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The pilot additionally stated that the airplane's weight at the time of the accident was about 300 pounds below the maximum gross weight. He did not report any malfunctions with the engine or airframe. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the landing facility after the accident and observed the turf was mowed to a height of about 6 inches. He also observed that about 500 feet north of the grass strip, was the Bowtie Airport, also a private grass strip. There were no taxiways between the two grass strips. According to the airplane pilot's operating handbook, the takeoff performance for a paved level dry runway, at maximum gross weight, included a ground roll of about 1,000 feet, and a total distance of 2,100 feet to clear a 50-foot obstacle. There were no charts available in the handbook to calculate takeoff performance from a soft field. The weather at a nearby airport, about the time of the accident, included winds from 040 degrees at 6 knots, temperature of 29 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.85 inches Hg. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9357N](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9357N-2005-04-07), registration cancelled 2005-04-07, S/N 28R-35063, built 1969 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-28-200 - Registry model: [Piper PA-28R-200](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28r-200) (registry code 7102811) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-360-series) (registry code 17025, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 28R-35063 - Airframe hours: 3147 - Engines: Lycoming IO-360 200 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Frank A. Waltman - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 10, 2001, 45 hours before - Departed: PA51, Gettysburg, PA - Airport: PA51, Bowtie Airport, runway 05, 1,800 × 100 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 52; injuries: minor; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review September 6, 2000; seat: left; flight hours: 2,000 total, 1,006 in this make and model, 1,950 as pilot in command, 30 in the last 90 days, 15 in the last 30 days, 6 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 40° at 6 knots - Visibility: 4 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 84 °F, dew point 70 °F - Altimeter: 29.85 inHg - Observed at: MDT, 30 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20020611018739A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020611018739A), Jun 11, 2002: Piper PA28R200, Biglerville, PA, Substantial damage. (-23) The pilot taxied the airplane to the end of the grass strip, and positioned the airplane to depart the strip diagonally, in an effort to take advantage… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 15, 2003, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54920. 420 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 285 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40445574&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Correspondence (item 2, .PDF, 28 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40181348&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Correspondence-Master.PDF - Performance Chart Excerpts (item 3, .PDF, 107 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40182659&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Performance%20Chart%20Excerpts-Master.PDF 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. --- 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.