Plum Island Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Newburyport, Massachusetts 01951
Saturday, January 29, 1994 11:55 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT DURING FINAL APPROACH, HE FLARED PRIOR TO REACHING THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD IN ORDER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FULL LENGTH OF THE RUNWAY. HE EXPECTED TO TOUCH DOWN ON THE NUMBERS. THE PILOT SAID THAT DURING THE FLARE, HE FELT A 'BUMP.' THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH A SNOWANK WHICH WAS LOCATED ABOUT 10 FEET FROM THE END OF THE RUNWAY. THE SNOWBANK MEASURED ABOUT THREE FEET IN HEIGHT. THE PILOT SAID THAT NEITHER HE NOR HIS PILOT RATED PASSENGER SAW THE SNOW BANK.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot not maintaining clearance from the snowbank during final approach. A factor in this accident was the proximity of the snowbank to the active runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/29/1994
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1155
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City NEWBURYPORT
Event State MASSACHUSETTS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 01951
Event Date Year 1994
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport PLUM ISLAND
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 2B2
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 10
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 40
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 6
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 25
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1036
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 29 1994 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1220
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 6 2000 10:23AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2496X
NTSB Number BFO94LA036
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-28-161
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-28-161
Aircraft Serial Number 28-8516071
Certified Max Gross Weight 2447
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 17 1993 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 4086
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BEVERLY FLIGHT CENTER
Aircraft Owner Street Address P. O. BOX 349
Aircraft Owner City DANVERS
Aircraft Owner State MA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 01923
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State A
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code LWM
Departure City LWRENCE
Departure State MA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 28
Runway Length 2520
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --