- Date
- December 20, 1994, 16:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Gr. Barrington, MA
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4497XPiper PA-28-181
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 27, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19941220041939A
- Case key
- 38911
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 landed with excessive airspeed which resulted in a long landing, runway overrun, and collision with trees.
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
According to the pilot's statement, he came in too fast and landed long. He reported, '...I ran off the runway to the right and crashed into some small trees...to my mind there was nothing wrong with the aircraft. The accident was due to pilot error.'
Factual narrative
On December 20, 1994, at 1600 eastern standard time, a Piper PA- 28-181, N4497X, piloted by Joesph Lewis, was substantially damaged during a landing on runway 29 at the Great Barrington Airport, Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The pilot and the three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight operated under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot statement on the NTSB Form 6120.1/2:
While landing I came in too fast and landed long. I ran off the runway to the right and crashed into some small trees...to my mind there was nothing wrong with the aircraft. The accident was due to pilot error.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4497X
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7670023
- Airframe hours
- 8,627
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Joesph Lewis
- Registered owner
- Berkshire Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 5, 1994 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- GBR
- Destination
- GBR · MA
- Airport
- GBR · Great Barrington, runway 29, 2,579 × 50 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
- 68
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 591 total · 6 in this make and model · 6 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.