- Date
- June 27, 1993, 18:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Mitchellville, MD
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7563YPiper PA-30
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930627022689A
- Case key
- 38616
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 failure of the pilot to maintain a proper glide path during the final approach, which resulted in the airplane striking a moving vehicle.
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
The pilot was completing a cross country flight to an airport where a major highway crosses under the final approach course. On final approach, the pilot felt some turbulence, added power to correct for a slight sinking and made a normal flare. Approximately 600 feet down the runway the right wing settled onto the runway. A witness, on the highway, observed the airplane fly a flat approach across the highway, and the landing gear of the airplane strike a moving truck trailer. Post accident examination of the airplane revealed the right main landing wheel missing and the right main landing gear strut collapsed inward.
Factual narrative
On Sunday, June 27, 1993, at about 1430 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA 30, N7563Y, piloted by William Dixon, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, struck the top of truck trailer while on final approach to Freeway Airport, Mitchellville, Maryland. The airplane was substantially damaged. The pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A flight plan had not been filed for the flight operating under 14 CFR 91.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, the pilot indicated that he was on final approach to the runway, flying the visual glideslope indicator. As the airplane crossed a road, the right main gear of the airplane struck a truck trailer. The pilot did not think there was much damage until landing, when the right wing settled to the runway. The airplane slid to a stop on the runway.
Examination of the wreckage by the FAA Inspector revealed the right main gear had sheared off and that the right wing and propeller were damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7563Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-30
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30-626
- Airframe hours
- 3,394
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Southern Aviation Mgt Corp.
- Registered owner
- Southern Aviation Mgt Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 10, 1992 · 224 hours before
- Departed
- RDU · Raleigh, NC
- Airport
- W00 · Freeway, runway 18, 2,425 × 30 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
- 46
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight engineer, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 7,500 total · 330 in this make and model · 6,500 as pilot in command · 90 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BWI, 15 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.