Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Delaware Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Cheswold, Delaware 19936
Sunday, October 12, 2003 19:05 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane arrived in the airport area after a night cross-country flight. On final approach to the runway, the passenger noticed off to her right that a tree was above them, and subsequently felt a bump. She then observed power lines, saw a bright flash, and did not recall anything further. The airplane struck an unlit 56-foot high utility pole at the 46-foot level, which was located approximately 940 feet prior to the runway threshold, and came to rest in a vertical position. A NOTAM was issued about two weeks prior to the accident, to inform pilots of an unlit 75-foot high power lines, located 1,000 feet east of runway 27. The NOTAM was in effect at the time of the accident. A printed copy of the NOTAM was posted on the airport's bulletin board. The runway was a 3,582-foot long, 60-foot wide asphalt runway, equipped with medium intensity lighting. The runway had a 350 foot displaced threshold, which was marked with white paint, and illuminated in accordance with FAA AC 150/5340-30. The runway was not equipped with a visual glideslope indicator. According to the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook regarding difficulties in perceiving altitude during night approaches, "Distance may be deceptive at night due to limited lighting conditions... A low, shallow approach is definitely inappropriate during a night operation." The calculated glideslope from the utility pole to the runway threshold was approximately 3.41 degrees. The calculated glideslope from the utility pole to the displaced runway threshold was approximately 2.49 degrees.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain a proper glide path to the runway, and his failure to maintain obstacle clearance which resulted in an in-flight collision with an unlit utility pole. Factors related to the accident were the unlit utility pole, and the dark night conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/12/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1905 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Cheswold |
| Event State | DELAWARE |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 19936 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 391306N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0753547W |
| Event Location Airport | Delaware Airpark |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 33N |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 90 |
| Airport Elevation | 56 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Partial - limited by pilot |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1855 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 150 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | DOV |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 28 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 6 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 20 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 280 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.82 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 17808 |
| NTSB Notification Source | EROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 12 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1935 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 8 2005 12:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Philadelphia, PA |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5320L |
| NTSB Number | NYC04LA007 |
| 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-28-180 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 28-4623 |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | James Aubrey |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Camden Wyoming |
| Aircraft Owner State | DE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 19934 |
| 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 | HZL |
| Departure City | Hazelton |
| Departure State | PA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1800 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 33N |
| Destination City | Cheswold |
| Destination State | DE |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach - VFR pattern - final approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 6 2005 2:21PM |
| User who most recently changed record | PEAR |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 27 |
| Runway Length | 3582 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |