Piper PA-32-300 accident near Hopedale, Massachusetts, March 27, 1994
On March 27, 1994 at about 3:35 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N2598Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hopedale, Massachusetts (Hopedale Industrial Park airport). It was an instructional 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 certified flight instructor's delay in taking remedial action by not initiating the go-around, resulting in the in-flight collision with the tree.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 27, 1994 · about 3:35 pm local time
- Place
- Hopedale, Massachusetts · Hopedale Industrial Park
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N2598Q · no longer on the register · serial 32-7740054
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THIS WAS A TRAINING FLIGHT TO ALLOW A RATED STUDENT PILOT (RSP) TO BUILD FLIGHT TIME IN THE AIRPLANE WITH A CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR (CFI). AFTER DEPARTURE, THE FLIGHT CONTINUED FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES IN THE LOCAL AREA. DURING THE RETURN FLIGHT TO THE AIRPORT, WHILE ON A LONG FINAL TO THE RUNWAY, THE CFI GAVE THE RSP A FORCED LANDING. THE RSP BELIEVED THAT THEY WERE TOO HIGH FOR THE RUNWAY AND PLACED THE AIRPLANE IN A SLIP TO LOSE ALTITUDE. WHEN THE RSP RESUMED A NORMAL GLIDE HE DETERMINED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS BELOW AN ACCEPTABLE GLIDE PATH TO MAKE THE RUNWAY. DURING A GO-AROUND INITIATED BY THE RSP, THE AIRPLANE STRUCK A TREE. THE CFI TOOK OVER THE CONTROLS OF THE AIRPLANE, COMPLETED A 360 DEGREE TURN, AND LANDED 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
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,500 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 45 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 5,300 as pilot in command; 3,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,467 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 5, 1993; 82 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 3,200 ft by 90 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 0.2 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 pm from ORH, 19 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.