- Date
- April 11, 2021, 20:40 local (Apr 12, 2021, 02:40 UTC)
- Place
- Silver City, NM
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N222BMPiper PA-28-180
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20210411004529A
- Case key
- 102965
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’s loss of situational awareness and failure to touchdown on the runway which resulted in a collision with the airport’s perimeter fence.
Findings · 5
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that, he became disoriented during a day visual flight rules (VFR), cross-country flight. After a nearly five-hour flight in search of his destination airport, he saw an airport and landed. After a brief conversation on the ground with witnesses, he refueled the airplane and departed in search of his original destination airport. Unable to locate his desired airport and five hours later as the day had turned to night, he spotted an airport and initiated an approach to the east. During the night VFR approach, the engine lost power, but the pilot switched fuel tanks and completed an engine restart inflight. However, the airplane did not touch down on airport property. The airplane landed outside of the airport’s southern perimeter fence, near Airport Road and the southeast airport access gate. The airplane impacted the airport’s perimeter fence and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and the left wing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N222BM
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-3231
- Built
- 1966
- Engine
- Lycoming O&VO-360 SER, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- SAD · Safford, AZ
- Destination
- TYL · Taylor, AZ
- Airport
- SVC · Grant County, runway 08/26, 6,802 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- None
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
- 81
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 500 total · 1 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 340° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 10 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.88 inHg
- Observed at
- KSVC, 1 nm away
- METAR
- KSVC 120235Z AUTO 32009KT 10SM CLR 16/M11 A2986 RMK AO2 T01571115
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.