# Incident 19970927033789I: Piper PA28180, Belen, NM, September 27, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 27, 1997, 08:00 local time
- Place: Belen, NM
- Airport: Alexander Municipal Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Touch And Go Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.7666° N, 106.8085° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Belen, NM, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.7666&lon=-106.8085&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4889T, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4889T) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-180 (registry code 7102808, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-180) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28180
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 72 total, 65 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970927033789I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: ON SEPTEMBER 27, 1997, AT APPROXIMATELY 08:00 MDT, A PIPER PA-28-180, N4889T, REGISTERED TO FLYING Z AVIATION CORPORATION, SUSTAINED PROPELLER AND NOSE LANDING GEAR DAMAGE AS A RESULT OF A HARD LANDING AT ALEXANDER MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, BELEN, NM WHILE PERFORMING TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS UNDER PART 91. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED AND WAS UNAWARE THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN DAMAGED IN THE INCIDENT UNTIL THE AIRCRAFT WAS SHUT DOWN AT ALBUQUERQUE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE THE MORNING FLIGHT ORIGINATED AND TERMINATED. DURING A LANDING AT ALEXANDER MUNI (E80) BELEN, NM THE AIRPLANE "PORPOISED" AND ON THE SECOND BOUNCE HIT THE RUNWAY HARD ENOUGH TO BEND THE NOSE WHEEL FORK AND BOTH PROP BLADES. THE PILOT ABORTED AND WENT AROUND FOR ANOTHER TRY. AFTER SUCCESSFULLY LANDING ON THE SECOND ATTEMPT, HE DID NOT CHECK FOR DAMAGE BUT FLEW TO ALBUQUERQUE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (ABQ) ALBUQUERQUE, NM (APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES). THE PILOT STATED "THE PLANE DID NOT VIBRATE AND WAS CLIMBING AND PERFORMING NEAR THE PATTERN NUMBERS". NOT UNTIL THE AIRPLANE WAS SHUT DOWN IN ALBUQUERQUE AND THE DAMAGE NOTICED DID THE PILOT CONSIDER THE LANDING A PROBLEM.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.