- Date
- November 3, 1991, 19:40 local (Nov 4, 1991, 00:40 UTC)
- Place
- Caldwell, NJ
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 4 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N9207KPiper PA-32R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report April 23, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911104048919A
- Case key
- 37106
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 allowed the airplane to get too low on final approach during a night visual landing. Factors in the accident were: the pilot improperly planned the approach, dark night and a lack of flight experience in night operations.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
While on short final during a night visual approach the pilot said, '... He just flew too low...' And struck trees about 1/2 mile short of the runway. The pilot had a total of 29 hours of night flight time as pilot in command.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9207K
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32R-7680196
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540KIA5D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Vincent A Sabio
- Registered owner
- Tango Aeronautical Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 15, 1991
- Departed
- PUD · Providence, RI
- Airport
- CDW · Essex County, runway 22, 4,553 × 80 ft, asphalt
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
- 58
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 402 total · 117 in this make and model · 198 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 270° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CDW, 1 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.