Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Gardiner, New York 12525
Friday, April 12, 2002 17:50 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
After making an unscheduled stop due to weather, the airplane departed on the accident flight. Once airborne, the airplane proceeded to the north towards mountainous terrain. No information regarding the route of flight was obtained for the airplane after it left the airport environment. The wreckage was located approximately 140 feet from the top of a 1,220-foot ridgeline, and about 10 miles east of the departure airport. The start of the debris path was marked by freshly broken tree branches at the top of a 60-foot tree. A path of freshly broken branches approximately 340 feet long connected the initial tree strikes to the main wreckage. The path was on a magnetic heading of 140 degrees, and had a down angle of approximately 2 degrees. At the time of the accident, the ridge was obscured by clouds, and the visibility was approximately 500 feet. Examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact failures or malfunctions with either the airframe or engine.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain sufficient altitude while maneuvering in a mountainous area, which resulted in a collision with terrain. Factors in the accident were, mountainous terrain, clouds, and the pilot's decision to continue the flight in deteriorating weather.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/12/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1750 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Gardiner |
| Event State | NEW YORK |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 12525 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 414455N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0741038W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1753 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 140 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | POU |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 165 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 17 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 700 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 1.5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 140 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.35 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Moderate |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13606 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern Region Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 12 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2023 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 1 2003 9:44AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Albany, NY |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N288CA |
| NTSB Number | NYC02FA082 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-28-181 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2843132 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2550 |
| 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 | Apr 12 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 108 |
| Airframe Hours | 281.1 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Thomas F. Childs |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Westhampton |
| Aircraft Owner State | MA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 01027 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | -- |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | -- |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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 | N89 |
| Departure City | Ellenville |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1730 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 7B2 |
| Destination City | Northampton |
| Destination State | MA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 29 2003 3:41PM |
| User who most recently changed record | PEAR |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |