Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Cessna 172M Skyhawk, N20469: Accident occurred September 09, 2014 in Watertown, Connecticut

NTSB Identification: ERA14CA430
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, September 09, 2014 in Watertown, CT
Probable Cause Approval Date: 10/09/2014
Aircraft: CESSNA 172M, registration: N20469
Injuries: 1 Minor.

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 pilot stated that he was utilizing an iPad for navigation, and mistakenly landed in a field rather than his intended destination, an airport with a turf runway. After landing, he taxied the airplane to a corner of the field and commenced a takeoff roll, estimating the available takeoff distance to be about 600 feet. Just after takeoff, the left wing struck a tree and the airplane subsequently impacted the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing and engine firewall. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or abnormalities with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's decision to takeoff from a field which resulted in a collision with trees and the ground. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to correctly identify the destination airport and runway, which resulted in an off-airport landing in the field.      

A small plane has gone down near Park Road in Watertown.  

Watertown fire officials say the plane went down in a field behind homes just before 9 a.m. in the 300 block of Park Road, not far from Mattatuck State Forest.

Pilot Daniel Kropas, of Ridgefield, was heading from Danbury to Waterbury Airport in Plymouth when his plane went down, missing power lines in the area and hit the ground, landing backwards and coming to rest against a group of trees.

There are no injuries, a fire official said. Kropas was transported to the hospital to be evaluated as a precaution.

John Moskaluk, of Watertown, a resident in the area witnessed the crash and said that the pilot weaved in between powerlines and that if he got caught in the wires it might have been a much different outcome.

"If he had that it would have been like a razor blade. It would have sliced that plane right up," Moskaluk said. "I don't think he would have pulled those lines down. They're heavy lines and stuff. He would have been a mess. It's a miracle how he landed that plane in the bushes over there.

Fuel spilled as a result of the crash and The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is responding to the scene.

The Federal Aviation Administration is also responding to investigate.


Story and Comments:  http://www.nbcconnecticut.com
 
WATERTOWN, Conn. (WTNH) — A Ridgefield pilot walked away from a small plane crash in Watertown this morning. 

The incident happened near 320 Park Road around 8:55 a.m., when a small plane went down in a field. 

Witnesses tell News 8’s Kent Pierce the Cessna 172 went under high power lines, flipped backwards and into trees.

The plane is registered to a man in Ridgefield.

Watertown police or fire officials have not yet commented on the incident, other than to confirm a plane went down.

A spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection says one of its crews has been dispatched out to the area to deal with any fuel spill from the crash.

Story, Photo and Video:  http://wtnh.com


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