Wednesday, June 01, 2022

Piper PA-28-161, N2973K: Accident occurred May 31, 2022 near Simsbury Airport (4B9), Hartford County, Connecticut

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. 

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident. 

Additional Participating Entity: 
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Bradley

Crown Heights Footcare 


Location: Simsbury, Connecticut 
Accident Number: ERA22LA253
Date and Time: May 31, 2022, 19:25 Local 
Registration: N2973K
Aircraft: Piper PA28 
Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Piper
Registration: N2973K
Model/Series: PA28 161 
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built:
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Operator Designator Code:

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: VMC
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KBDL,169 ft msl
Observation Time: 19:51 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 5 Nautical Miles 
Temperature/Dew Point: 26°C /17°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Few / 8000 ft AGL
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 12 knots / , 180°
Lowest Ceiling: Broken / 10000 ft AGL
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 29.9 inches Hg 
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Farmingdale, NY (FRG)
Destination: Simsbury, CT

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 None
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: 
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 None 
Latitude, Longitude: 41.912547,-72.778297

Aircraft wreckage was discovered on a farm, struck a fence and greenhouse. 

Date: 01-JUN-22
Time: 00:34:00Z
Regis#: N2973K
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: PA28
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: SUBSTANTIAL
Activity: UNKNOWN
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
Operation: 91
City: SIMSBURY
State: CONNECTICUT




SIMSBURY, Connecticut  — When local firefighters arrived at the scene of a plane crash Tuesday night, they had an unusual, but welcome problem — there were no victims, the fire chief said.

The small plane had overshot the runway at Simsbury Airport, traveled about 250 feet, plowed through a wire fence and into a greenhouse, or hoop house, on a neighboring farm, Fire Chief James Baldis said Wednesday. The pilot, who apparently wasn’t seriously injured, went home before authorities arrived, Baldis said.

A farmer discovered the single-engine Piper about an hour later and called police at 8:20 p.m., Baldis said. The plane had gone through the hoop house and became entangled in the plastic that covers half-circle supports to keep crops warm. The aircraft also was damaged, he said.

“The farmer went to do some work in his field and found there was a plane in his hoop house,” Baldis said. “When we arrived on scene, there was no one there.”

Firefighters learned that an acquaintance had been flying in another plane behind the pilot. Once the second plane landed safely, the pilot who crashed drove off with the acquaintance, Baldis said.

The pilot who crashed had been taking the plane in for service, Baldis said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis said police are working with the FAA on the probe.

As far as whether there will be any charges for leaving the scene of a crash, Davis didn’t know.

“At this point, it’s kind of preliminary to say anything about charges,” he said.





A small plane crash that happened on Wolcott Road is under investigation, according to Simsbury First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been notified and they're responding, according to Mackstutis.

Fire officials said they got a call that a plane had gone off the runway and into a hoop house greenhouse.

FAA officials said farm workers found the wreckage of a single-engine plane in a field near Simsbury Airport at about 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The plane was unoccupied when crews arrived. Crews searching the area weren't able to find the pilot, who was determined to be the plane's only occupant.

Firefighters were eventually able to contact the pilot, who was safe at home.

"The owner was bringing the plane to Simsbury for some service and was being followed by another individual in a second plane. When the incident occurred, he dropped off some material at the airport, hopped in his friend's plane and basically went home. Unfortunately, he never notified anybody," Fire Chief Jim Baldis said.

The plane has some damage and the greenhouse was also damaged, according to fire officials.

"If you have an incident, especially if you are on private property or damage any kind of structure, you have at least a responsibility to notify authorities of the incident so at least you don't have a situation like this where you respond and think the worst," Baldis said.

The plane is believed to have gone 250 to 300 feet beyond the runway. The pilot overshot it, went through a wire fence and ultimately crashed into the greenhouse, according to authorities.

Fire officials said there was fortunately no fire because the fuel had been shut off.




SIMSBURY, Connecticut  — Investigators are looking into why a small plane crashed in a farm near a small Connecticut airport, where authorities found the wreckage empty. It turned out that the uninjured pilot had gotten a ride home in another aircraft.

The single-engine Piper PA-28 apparently overshot a runway sometime Tuesday evening at the Simsbury Airport, near Hartford.

The crash wasn't reported until the farm owner came upon the wreckage in a greenhouse near the end of the runway around 8:30 p.m., Simsbury Fire Chief James Baldis told reporters.

He said authorities eventually determined that the pilot had been dropping his plane off for service and had someone else following him in a different plane, which picked him up after the wreck.

"He’s perfectly OK. Unfortunately, he just didn’t report the fact that this had happened,” Baldis said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

No comments:

Post a Comment