14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, June 25, 2011 in Bridgeport, CT
Probable Cause Approval Date: 11/17/2011
Aircraft: PIPER PA-32-300, registration: N600DK
Injuries: 2 Serious.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The purpose of the flight was for the pilot to regain night currency, which had lapsed two weeks prior. The pilot stated that he intended to fly three landing pattern approaches and perform three full stop landings. According to the pilot, the take off, and initial climbout to a left downwind were normal. The pilot reported that there was a slight haze in the vicinity of the airport. While turning to the base leg of the approach, the pilot trimmed the airplane for 90 mph and lowered the flaps to the "first notch." The pilot reported the he saw "two white lights" on the vertical approach slope indicator, which indicated that he was above the glideslope, so he adjusted the trim to maintain 80 mph and lowered the flaps to the "third notch." The airplane's left wing impacted a 12-foot-tall blast fence, which was located 20 feet from the end of the runway, resulting in the separation of the left wing from the fuselage. After the accident, the pilot stated that the blast fence was indistinguishable from the runway threshold markings. The blast fence was properly marked with red and white checker markings on the interior side and was not required to be lit by Federal Aviation Administration facility requirements. The pilot was familiar with the airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a blast fence on final approach to land.
The purpose of the flight was for the pilot to regain night currency which had lapsed two weeks prior. The pilot stated that he intended to fly three landing pattern approaches and perform three full stop landings. According to the pilot, the take off, and initial climb out to a left downwind were normal. The pilot also reported that there was a slight haze in the vicinity of the airport. While turning to the base leg of the approach, the pilot trimmed the aircraft for 90 miles per hour (mph) and lowered the flaps down to the "first notch." The pilot reported the he saw "two white lights" on the Vertical Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) which indicated that he was above glide-slope so he adjusted the trim to maintain 80 mph and lowered the flaps down to the "third notch." The airplane's left wing impacted a 12-foot-tall blast fence, which was located 20 feet from the end of the runway resulting in the separation of the left wing from the fuselage. The VASI was set for a 3 degrees glide-path and the threshold of the runway was displaced 319 feet. After the accident, the pilot stated that the blast fence was indistinguishable from the runway threshold markings. The blast fence was properly marked with red and white checker markings on the interior side and was not required to be lit by federal aviation administration facility requirements. The pilot was familiar with the airport.
Photo: Contributed
Photo: Contributed
Photo: Contributed
BRIDGEPORT -- A Westport woman who suffered severe and possibly permanent injuries to her left leg after the plane she was traveling in crashed at Sikorsky Memorial Airport on June 25 is suing the city for failing to following Federal Aviation Administration and state recommendations to remove a steel blast wall.
The suit filed in Superior Court this week on behalf of Roxanne Sward, the wife of the pilot, Paul Sward, claims at least one and possibly more of the heavy steel girders supporting the blast wall near the approach to Runway 24 collapsed and pierced the plane's cockpit after being struck.
The accident caused the plane, owned by former state Sen. Robert Russo who rented it to Paul Sward, burst into flames. The Swards had to be extricated from the plane and taken to Bridgeport Hospital.
"She suffered very serious permanent injuries to her left leg," said James Kearns, a Trumbull lawyer who once served as a city attorney in Bridgeport and has handled several aircraft crash suits over the years. Kearns said the woman is confined to a wheelchair after bones in her left leg were crushed and pulverized as well as broken in her foot and ankle.
"The city is negligent in not following the recommendations of the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board to remove the steel girder-supported blast wall and replace it a frangible wall designed to give away when struck," Kearns said.
Additionally Kearns said there are no warning lights on the blast wall which would alert aircraft approaching the runway. There are a series of red lights elevated on poles to the east of Runway 24. But Kearns said those lights in poor visibility conditions create the illusion that a pilot "could continue to descend for landing, when in fact the aircraft was several feet from the runway and had not cleared the blast wall."
City Attorney Mark Anastasi could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The crash reignited the recommended safety zone debate which has been objected to by Stratford town officials and residents. While the airport is owned by Bridgeport in rests on land in Stratford. The construction of the safety zone requires realignment of Stratford's Main Street.
For years, Bridgeport officials have pushed for the safety improvements, while officials in Stratford, where the airport is located, have fought runway expansion, citing a 1978 agreement that mandates "permission from the town for the acquisition of land for extension of airport runways."
Last month the Federal Aviation Administration granted approval for the improvements; local and state approvals are now needed for it to move forward.
At least four aircraft have crashed into the thick metal blast fence during the past 17 years. The Federal Aviation Administration has recommended replacing the fence with a football field long stretch of soft concrete-like material which would give way when a plane strikes it.
Eight people were killed during an April, 1994 crash into the blast fence.
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, June 25, 2011 in Bridgeport, CT
Aircraft: PIPER PA-32-300, registration: N600DK
Injuries: 2 Serious.
The purpose of the flight was for the pilot to regain night currency which had lapsed two weeks prior. The pilot stated that he intended to fly three landing pattern approaches and perform three full stop landings. According to the pilot, the take off, and initial climb out to a left downwind were normal. The pilot also reported that there was a slight haze in the vicinity of the airport. While turning to the base leg of the approach, the pilot trimmed the aircraft for 90 miles per hour (mph) and lowered the flaps down to the "first notch." The pilot reported the he saw "two white lights" on the Vertical Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) which indicated that he was above glide-slope so he adjusted the trim to maintain 80 mph and lowered the flaps down to the "third notch." The airplane's left wing impacted a 12-foot-tall blast fence, which was located 20 feet from the end of the runway resulting in the separation of the left wing from the fuselage. The VASI was set for a 3 degrees glide-path and the threshold of the runway was displaced 319 feet. After the accident, the pilot stated that the blast fence was indistinguishable from the runway threshold markings. The blast fence was properly marked with red and white checker markings on the interior side and was not required to be lit by federal aviation administration facility requirements. The pilot was familiar with the airport.
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