# Accident 19990507004749A: Piper PA28140, Galena, AK, May 7, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 7, 1999, 11:55 local time - Place: Galena, AK - Airport: Galena - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 64.7396° N, 156.8498° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=64.7396&lon=-156.8498&mi=10 - Aircraft: N1808T, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1808T-2000-09-14) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28-140 (registry code 7102802, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-140) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28140 - Reported engine: LYC O320E2A - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 349 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC99LA059](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC99LA059) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990507004749A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT CRASHED ON LANDING AND WAS DESTROYED, OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN.(FROM .19) ON MAY 7, 1999, ABOUT 1155 ALASKA DAYLIGHT TIME, A WHEEL EQUIPPED PIPER PA-28-140 AIRPLANE, N1808T, WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE AFTER LANDING AT THE GALENA AIRPORT, GALENA, ALASKA. THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING OPERATED AS A VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) LOCAL AREA PERSONAL FLIGHT WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE FIRST PILOT, SEATED IN THE RIGHT SEAT, AND THE SECOND PILOT, SEATED IN THE LEFT SEAT, BOTH CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOTS, WERE NOT INJURED. THE AIRPLANE WAS OWNED BY THE SECOND PILOT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. DURING A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION WITH THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATOR-IN-CHARGE ON MAY 4, BOTH PILOTS REPORTED THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE FLIGHT WAS TO DEMONSTRATE THE AIRPLANE TO THE FIRST PILOT, WHO WAS INTERESTED IN PURCHASING A ONE-HALF INTEREST. THE SECOND PILOT STATED THAT WHILE THE FIRST PILOT WAS LANDING ON RUNWAY 25, ABOUT 4 FEET ABOVE THE RUNWAY, THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE SUDDENLY DROPPED. THE NOSE LANDING GEAR CONTACTED THE RUNWAY HARD, AND COLLAPSED. HE SAID THAT THE AIRPLANE SLID TO A STOP, AND THEY BOTH ESCAPED FROM THE AIRPLANE, WHICH WAS THEN CONSUMED BY A POSTCRASH FIRE. BOTH PILOTS NOTED THAT THERE WERE NO PREACCIDENT MECHANICAL ANOMALIES WITH THE AIRPLANE. (-23) MR. MEECE WAS MANIPULATING THE CONTROLS OF THE AIRCRAFT ON LANDING. THE AIRCRAFT HAD A HARD LANDING THE NOSE GEAR HIT FIRST AND BROKE OFF. THERE WAS A POST CRASH FIRE THAT DESTROYED THE AIRCRAFT. (.4) THE FIRST PILOT, SEATED IN THE RIGHT SEAT, WAS INTERESTED IN PURCHASING A ONE-HALF INTEREST FROM THE AIRPLANE OWNER AND SECOND PILOT, SEATED IN THE LEFT SEAT. BOTH PILOTS REPORTED THAT THE FIRST PILOT WAS MANIPULATING THE CONTROLS AS THE AIRPLANE APPROACHED FOR LANDING ON RUNWAY 25. THEY SAID THAT ABOUT 4 FEET ABOVE THE RUNWAY, THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE SUDDENLY DROPPED. THE NOSE LANDING GEAR CONTACTED THE RUNWAY HARD, AND COLLAPSED. THEY REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE SLID TO A STOP, AND THEY BOTH ESCAPED FROM THE AIRPLANE, WHICH WAS THEN CONSUMED BY A POSTCRASH FIRE. IN HIS WRITTEN STATEMENT TO THE NTSB, THE FIRST PILOT ADDED THAT WHILE SEATED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE AIRPLANE, IT WAS DIFFICULT TO READ THE AIRSPEED INDICATOR THAT WAS POSITIONED ON THE FAR LEFT SIDE ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. BOTH PILOTS NOTED THAT THERE WERE NO PREACCIDENT MECHANICAL ANOMALIES WITH THE AIRPLANE. ## 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 ANC99LA059](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC99LA059), May 7, 1999: Piper PA-28-140 (N1808T), Galena, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot-in-command's inadvertent stall during the flare for landing. A factor associated with the accident was the pilot-in-command's obstructed view of the airspeed indicator. 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.