Piper PA-32RT-300 accident near W. Columbia, South Carolina, January 28, 2000
On January 28, 2000 at about 5:02 am local time, a Piper PA-32RT-300, registered N42Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near W. Columbia, South Carolina (Columbia Metropolitan airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The inadequate wording of the NOTAM for failure to identify that the usable width of the runway was reduced and the inadequate snow removal by airport personnel for failure to remove the snow from the runway resulting in the on-ground collision with a snow bank.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 28, 2000 · about 5:02 am local time
- Place
- W. Columbia, South Carolina · Columbia Metropolitan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32RT-300 PA-32RT-30 · all PA-32RT-300s on the register
- Registration
- N42Y · no longer on the register · serial 32R-7885239
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A NOTAM in effect at the time of the accident indicated, '[runway] 11/29 18 IN SNBNK', and 'all twy [taxiway] edge lgts [lights] obscd [obscured] by snbnks [snowbanks].' The NOTAM did not indicate that the usable width of the runway was reduced. The pilot stated that after landing on runway 11 while exiting the runway at high speed taxiway 'C', the left main landing gear collided with an approximate 18-inch-high berm of ice. He taxied to the ramp then noted damage to the airplane. Examination of runway 11/29 by an FAA inspector revealed an 18-inch high 3 foot-wide ice berm on either side of the runway with the inner edge of the ice berm located approximately 6-8 feet inward from each runway edge. The ice berm had an opening for taxiway 'C'. The nosewheel was determined to be approximately 3 feet to the left of the lead off line from the runway onto the taxiway, at the time of the accident.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,915 hours in all; 160 in this make and model; 285 in the last 90 days; 65 in the last 30 days; 1,800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,551 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 26, 2000; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 0
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Corporate Air Fleet, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: CLT Charlotte NC at 4:20 am
- Destination: CAE
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 11, 8,602 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:56 am from CAE
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.
Other NTSB records under N42Y the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.