Piper PA24 N400RW

Summary

On 7 September 2023 at about 03:00 local time, a Piper PA24 registered N400RW was involved in an accident near Norwood, Massachusetts, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 September 2023 at 03:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Norwood, Massachusetts, United States

Nearest airport

Norwood Memorial Airport (OWD)

Coordinates

42.1835, -71.1713

Aircraft

Piper PA24

Registration

N400RW

Category

Airplane

Year built

1964

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Nantucket → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA23LA364

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to fly an appropriate glide path during the landing approach, which resulted in a collision with approach lights and the ground short of the intended runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot and passenger proceeded on the cross-country nigh flight and on arrival near the destination airport the pilot stated that he was instructed by air traffic control to descend through class B airspace on a straight-in approach to the runway, which required him to descend at a rate of about 1,000 ft-per-minute. While flying the straight-in approach he indicated that he was, “a little behind on the aircraft as we descended.” With the lights and the runway in sight he descended too quickly on final approach and impacted airport approach lighting then the ground short of the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.