GILMER, TX, USA
N7012W
PIPER PA-28-180
AN ASSOCIATE OF THE PLT/OWNER STATED THAT HE HAD DEPARTED AT ABOUT 2030 CST TO GET SOME NIGHT PRACTICE PRIOR TO GETTING A DAY VFR RESTRICTION REMOVED FROM HIS PVT LICENSE. REPORTEDLY, THE OWNER/PLT & AN INSTRUCTOR (CFI) WERE INTENDING TO FLY TOGETHER & PRACTICE TOUCH-&-GO LANDINGS. THERE WERE NO KNOWN WITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT. THE ACFT WAS FOUND ABOUT 4 HRS AFTER IT HAD CRASHED. AN EXAM OF THE CRASH SITE REVEALED THE ACFT HAD COLLIDED WITH 70 FT TREES NEAR THE APCH END OF RWY 35. IMPACT OCCURRED IN A SLIGHT RIGHT BANK & SLIGHT NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE, AS IF THE ACFT WAS ON A BASE TO FINAL TURN, BUT TOO CLOSE IN & TOO LOW. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND DURING THE INVESTIGATION. THE CFI, WHO WAS ACTING AS A SAFETY PLT, RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES & HAD NO MEMORY OF WHAT OCCURRED DURING THE FLT. THERE WERE TALL TREES NEAR THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE RWY WHICH MAY HAVE OBSCURED THE RWY LIGHTS WHEN VIEWED FROM THE EAST OR SOUTHEAST.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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