# Accident 19981012040279A: Piper PA28*, Carson City, NV, October 12, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 12, 1998, 14:45 local time
- Place: Carson City, NV
- Airport: Carson Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.2091° N, 119.7106° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.2091&lon=-119.7106&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5078W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5078W-2017-06-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28 (registry code 7102801, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28*
- Reported engine: LYC O320B2B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,155 total, 300 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99LA010](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA010) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981012040279A

## Narrative

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

(-23) AIRCRAFT LANDED RUNWAY 27, DEPARTED RIGHT SIDE OF RUNWAY. RIGHT WING DAMAGED, RIGHT MAIN GEAR SEVERED FROM AIRCRAFT, NOSE GEAR DAMAGED, PROPELLER BENT AFT, FIREWALL BENT, ENGINE MOUNT BROKEN AND BENT, RIGHT STEERING ARM BROKEN, BELLY CRACKED AND BENT. (.4) ON OCTOBER 12, 1998, AT 1445 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-28, N5078W, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE DURING LANDING AT CARSON CITY, NEVADA. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT AND HIS WIFE WERE NOT INJURED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS OPERATED BY ATC CORPORATION, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, UNDER 14 CFR PART 91 OF THE FEDERAL AVIATION REGULATIONS. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE PILOT OBTAINED A WEATHER BRIEFING OVER THE INTERNET. THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED FROM EL MONTE, CALIFORNIA, AND MADE AN INTERMEDIATE STOP IN BISHOP, CALIFORNIA. THE PILOT STATED THAT UNICOM ADVISED HIM THE WINDS WERE CALM AND HE ELECTED TO LAND ON RUNWAY 27. HE DID NOT RECALL LOOKING AT A WINDSOCK. HE STATED HE EXPERIENCED SOME TURBULENCE AND CROSSWIND AT TOUCHDOWN. THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED AND SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT AND THE RIGHT WING WAS BENT AFTER IT CONTACTED THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAF DEPARTED THE RUNWAY AND CROSSED A DRAINAGE DITCH BEFORE COMING TO REST. AN INSPECTOR FROM THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION NOTED THAT BOTH BLADES OF THE PROPELLER WERE BENT, THE NOSE GEAR WAS BUCKLED, AND THE RIGHT HORIZONTAL STABILIZER WAS DAMAGED. ADDITIONALLY, THE FIREWALL AND BOTTOM OF THE FUSELAGE WERE BUCKLED. A MAN WORKING IN HIS OFFICE AT THE AIRPORT SAW THE AIRPLANE IN THE LANDING PATTERN AND OBSERVED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS GOING TO LAND WITH A QUARTERING TAILWIND. HE STATED THAT A HILL NORTHEAST OF THE AIRPORT IS KNOWN BY LOCAL PILOTS TO DISTURB THE AIR FOR THIS APPROACH WHEN THE WINDS ARE FROM THE NORTHEAST.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX99LA010](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA010), Oct 12, 1998: Piper PA-28 (N5078W), Carson City, NV, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to verify the wind direction and speed, his selection of the wrong runway for the existing wind conditions, and, his inadequate compensation for those wind conditions.

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.

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