- Date
- December 14, 1992, 08:14 local (13:14 UTC)
- Place
- Danbury, CT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N2131JPiper PA-28-181
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 14, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921214050099A
- Case key
- 37279
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 misjudged the clearance between two snow banks, striking one of the snow banks with the airplane's right wing.
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
During taxi for takeoff the airplane struck snow banks that were located on both sides of the taxiway. A pilot that taxied on the same taxiway the night prior to the accident, in a high wing airplane, told the FAA that the clearance between both snow banks, '...would be tight for a low wing aircraft.'
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2131J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28 7990215
- Airframe hours
- 2,528
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Aviron Corp.
- Registered owner
- Aviron Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 20, 1992 · 33 hours before
- Departed
- DXR
- Destination
- SVA · Stuart, FL
- Airport
- DXR · Danbury, runway 8, 5,000 × 150 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
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 217 total · 7 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 30 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DXR, 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.