Piper PA-28-151 accident near Danbury, Connecticut, December 11, 2006
On December 11, 2006 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-151, registered N44635, was substantially damaged in an accident near Danbury, Connecticut (Danbury Municipal 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's inadequate recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 11, 2006 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Danbury, Connecticut · Danbury Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-151 · all PA-28-151s on the register
- Registration
- N44635 · no longer on the register · serial 28-7415690
- 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 solo flight in a Piper PA-28-151. After takeoff, the student pilot remained in the traffic pattern and flew an approach to runway 35, a 3,135-foot-long, 100-foot-wide, asphalt runway. The airplane touched down hard at the approach end of the runway and bounced. During that time, the student pilot's headset slipped from her head and fell to the cabin floor. When the student pilot attempted to retrieve her headset, the airplane touched down harder a second time, and the nose gear separated from the 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: 18 hours in all; 18 in this make and model; 18 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 1 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DXR Danbury CT
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 3,135 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 9,000 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.38 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from DXR
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.