What happened
On the day of the accident, an 85-year-old pilot was performing a landing attempt at a private turf airstrip measuring 1,500 feet in length. While on final approach, the Piper PA-22-150 made contact with trees and subsequently struck utility wires. The aircraft came to rest in an upright position following the impact. At the time of the event, weather conditions were reported as having calm winds, a broken ceiling at 9,000 feet, and visibility of 10 miles.
The pilot had a total flight experience of 2,319 hours, with much of that time logged in the same aircraft type. In the 90 days prior to the accident, the pilot had operated the aircraft for approximately 17 hours. There were no injuries reported following the event.
The investigation
An examination of the wreckage was conducted to identify any potential mechanical issues. The investigation found no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions, and the pilot did not report any mechanical failures occurring during the flight.