Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA28 near Pittstown, NJ — 2017-08-06

Final reportERA17LA267
Sign in to save
Date
2017-08-06
Location
Pittstown, NJ, USA
Airport
N40
Aircraft
PIPER PA28
Registration
N56884
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The student pilot's improper decision to conduct a night flight and his failure to maintain adequate altitude during the approach, which resulted in controlled flight into trees and terrain. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot's lack of total and recent night flight experience.

NTSB narrative

The student pilot owned the airplane and intended to conduct a 20-minute night, cross-country flight to a nearby airport for avionics installation. During a circling descent to the destination airport, the airplane collided with trees and terrain, which resulted in a postcrash fire. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The student had a total flight experience of 105 hours, of which 5 hours were at night. He had not flown during the 90-day period preceding the accident.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Controlled flight into terrain
First missed decision gate
Student pilot should have aborted the approach when losing altitude.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • ADS-B / radar
  • Photos
  • 7 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents7

Related mishaps