Piper PA-28-180 accident near Norwood, Massachusetts, March 24, 2004
On March 24, 2004 at about 1:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-180, registered N6535J, was substantially damaged in an accident near Norwood, Massachusetts (Norwood airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 student pilot failure to recover from a bounced landing. A factor in this accident was the student pilot's lack of solo flight experience.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 24, 2004 · about 1:45 pm local time
- Place
- Norwood, Massachusetts · Norwood · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-180 · all PA-28-180s on the register
- Registration
- N6535J · no longer on the register · serial 28-4976
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was conducting her first unsupervised solo flight, and was practicing takeoffs and landings on a 4,008-foot-long, 100-foot-wide, asphalt runway. She had completed approximately 17 landings prior to the accident; however, during the next landing attempt, her approach was high, and when the airplane contacted the runway, it landed harder, and bounced higher, than usual. The airplane began to porpoise, the propeller struck the runway, and the nose gear collapsed. The airplane then departed the right side of the runway and struck a snow bank. The student pilot did not experience any mechanical problems. She reported 49.2 hours of total flight experience, all in the make and model of the accident airplane.
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
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 49 hours in all; 49 in this make and model; 48 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 2 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,750 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 16, 2003; 120 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A3A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OWD Norwood MA at 12:50 pm
- Destination: OWD Norwood MA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 4,008 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.54 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from OWD
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.