Piper PA-28-180 accident near Oxford, Massachusetts, January 14, 2002
On January 14, 2002 at about 5:10 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-180, registered N3997R, was substantially damaged in an accident near Oxford, Massachusetts (Oxford airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's delayed aborted landing and his failure to attain obstacle clearance. The pilot's misjudgment of distance is a contributing factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 14, 2002 · about 5:10 pm local time
- Place
- Oxford, Massachusetts · Oxford
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-180 · all PA-28-180s on the register
- Registration
- N3997R · no longer on the register · serial 28-7105102
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was on a cross country flight when he became disoriented and misidentified the airport that he intended to land at with another airport located about 9 miles away. Both airports had the same runway alignment and Unicom frequency. The pilot performed a short field approach to runway 02, and landed about 1/3 of the way down the 2,097 foot long snow and patchy ice covered runway. He said that he "landed longer down the runway than he would have liked, and that was part of the problem." During the landing roll-out, the pilot said that he avoided hard braking due to the runway conditions. As the airplane came over a rise, he noticed a snow bank located at the end of the runway and decided to abort the landing. With less than half of the runway length available, the pilot applied power and tried to establish a climb, but was unable to clear the trees. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies. He also reported that the accident could have been prevented by, "strict adherence to the flight plan...use of multiple characteristics to identify rural airports...[and] more precise execution of short-field procedure." A review of the Piper PA-28-180 takeoff performance charts revealed that the airplane would have needed approximately 1,625 feet to take off over a 50-foot obstacle on a paved, level, dry runway in zero wind conditions with 25 degrees of flaps extended, and full power applied before brake release.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 156 hours in all; 37 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,000 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,450 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4MCA4A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Eagle East Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: LWM Lawrence MA at 4:30 pm
- Destination: 3B0 Southbridge MA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 02, 2,047 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 7 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 11,000 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 5:21 pm from ORH, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.