NYC92LA027

1991-11-03 · CALDWELL, New Jersey, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CDW

Aircraft involved

N9207K Piper PA-32R Serious

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT ALLOWED THE AIRPLANE TO GET TOO LOW ON FINAL APPROACH DURING A NIGHT VISUAL LANDING. FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE PILOT IMPROPERLY PLANNED THE APPROACH, DARK NIGHT AND A LACK OF FLIGHT EXPERIENCE IN NIGHT OPERATIONS.

Factual narrative

WHILE ON SHORT FINAL DURING A NIGHT VISUAL APPROACH THE PILOT SAID, '... HE JUST FLEW TOO LOW...' AND STRUCK TREES ABOUT 1/2 MILE SHORT OF THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT HAD A TOTAL OF 29 HOURS OF NIGHT FLIGHT TIME AS PILOT IN COMMAND. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_NYC92LA027.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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