Piper PA-60-700P accident near Greenville, Maine, October 3, 1999
On October 3, 1999 at about 4:15 pm local time, a Piper PA-60-700P, registered N407SA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Greenville, Maine (Greenville Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and his inadequate visual lookout.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 3, 1999 · about 4:15 pm local time
- Place
- Greenville, Maine · Greenville Muni
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-60-700P · all PA-60-700Ps on the register
- Registration
- N407SA · registry record · serial 60-8423015
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After entering VFR conditions at 6,000 feet MSL, the pilot canceled his IFR flight plan and made a straight-in, visual approach to a Runway 14, which had been NOTAM'd closed. During the landing, the airplane struck a lighted barricade and it's left wing contacted a 5 to 6 foot high pile of gravel located about 3,100 feet beyond the approach end of the runway. The pilot stated he re-checked the NOTAMS for the airport after the accident, and observed the NOTAM for the closed runway. The pilot said it was possible that he did not scroll all the way down the computer screen when he originally checked the NOTAMS.
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: 1,199 hours in all; 306 in this make and model; 58 in the last 90 days; 31 in the last 30 days; 1,105 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,050 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 9, 1999; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,315 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BED Bedford MA at 3:15 pm
- Destination: 3B1
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 14, 3,999 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 9,000 ft; scat at 1,200 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from BGR, 57 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.