Piper PA-28-180 accident near Edgartown, Massachusetts, October 3, 1997
On October 3, 1997 at about 10:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-180, registered N7742W, was substantially damaged in an accident near Edgartown, Massachusetts (Katama Airpark 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 evaluation of the wind direction and his failure to initiate a go-around. Contributing factors were the tailwind, wet runway, and utility pole.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 3, 1997 · about 10:45 pm local time
- Place
- Edgartown, Massachusetts · Katama Airpark Airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-180 · all PA-28-180s on the register
- Registration
- N7742W · registry record · serial 28-1751
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated he planned an approach and landing on runway 06, a wet grass runway, at the destination airport because the winds were measured by a reporting station nearby to be 080 degrees at 6 knots. The pilot landed fast and retracted the flaps upon touchdown, approximately 1/3 of the way down the runway. As the pilot applied the brakes, the airplane continued upwind off the end of the runway, and impacted telephone poles that lay on the departure end of the runway. After exiting the airplane, the pilot determined the wind to be from 225 degrees at 8 knots. There was a wind sock located on the northeast side of the field.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,466 hours in all; 1,400 in this make and model; 24 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 1,366 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,672 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 1997; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,175 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A3A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: UUU Newport RI at 10:00 pm
- Destination: 1B2
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 6, 2,700 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 150° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,500 ft; scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from MVY, 5 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.