# Accident 20010218003439A: Piper PA32300, Angel Fire, NM, February 18, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: February 18, 2001, 16:00 local time - Place: Angel Fire, NM - Airport: Angel Fire Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Go Round (Aborted VFR) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 36.3891° N, 105.2692° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.3891&lon=-105.2692&mi=10 - Aircraft: N3051U, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3051U) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-32-300 (registry code 7103212, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-300) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming IO-540 series (registry code 41530, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA32300 - Reported engine: LYC IO540K1G5D - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 319 total, 253 in this make and model, 63 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN01LA054](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN01LA054) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010218003439A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19)ON FEBRUARY 18, 2001, APPROX. 1440 MST, N3051U, A PIPER PA-32-300, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN DURING LANDING AT ANGEL FIRE, NEW MEXICO. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT BEING CONDUCTED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, APPROX. 1245. ACCORDING TO THE FAA INSPECTOR WHO WENT TO THE ACCIDENTSITE, THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN 4,500 FEET PAST THE RUNWAY 35 THRESHOLD (8,900 FEET X 100 FEET, ASPHALT), DRIFTED TO THE RIGHT, AND STRUCK A SNOWBANK AT THE 5,900-FOOT MARK. IT THEN BECAME AIRBORNE. THE PILOT FLEW NOTY, TURNED AROUND, AND LANDED ON RUNWAY 17, TOUCHING DOWN 2,750 FEET FROM THE END AND SKIDDING TO HALT 1,800 FEET FROM THE END. THE NOSE LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED, BUCKLING THE FIREWALL. UNRECORDED WIND AT THE AIRPORT REPORTEDLY WAS FROM 260 DEGREES AT 20 KNOTS, GUSTING TO 30 KNOTS. (-23) ON 2/18/01, AT APPROX. 1440 MST, THE PRIVATE PILOT/OWNER OF A PA-32-300, N3051U, ATTEMPTED A CROSSWIND LANDING AT THE ANGEL FIRE AIRPORT IN ANGEL FIRE, NM. THE WINDS WERE REPORTED 260 AT 20 WITH GUST. THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHDOWN APPROX. 4500 FEET DOWN RUNWAY 35. AT THAT TIME A GUST OF WIND HIT THE A/C CAUSING IT TO VEER TO THE RIGHT ACROSS THE RIGHT EDGE OF THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO EXECUTE AN ABORTED LANDING AND EXECUTING A TEAR DROP PATTERN BACK TO RUNWAY 17. THE LANDING GEAR HAD BEEN SEVERLY DAMAGED. THE PILOT MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON RUNWAY 17 WITH NO INJURIES TO THE PILOT OR HIS PASSENGER. THE POST LANDING INSPECTION OF THE A/C BY THE FAA REVEALED THE NOSE GEAR WAS COLLAPSED AND THE FIREWALL SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. (.4)ON FEBRUARY 18, 2001, APPROXIMATELY 1600 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, N3051U, A PIPER PA-32-300, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN DURING LANDING AT ANGEL FIRE, NEW MEXICO. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT BEING CONDUCTED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED A T COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, APPROXIMATELY 1430. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT'S ACCIDENT REPORT, HE MADE AN APPROACH TO RUNWAY 35 AND APPLIED "FULL CROSS CONTROL" FOR THE CROSSWIND THAT THE AIRPORT REPORTED TO BE FROM 260 DEGREES AT 20 KNOTS AND GUSTING. AS THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN, "A STRONG GUST OF WIND" PUSHED THE AIRPLANE TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY AND THE PILOT ABORTED THE LANDING. DURING THE ABORT, THE NOSE LANDING GEAR STRUCK A 24-INCH HIGH SNOW BANK. THE PILOT TURNED AROUND AND LANDED ON RUNWAY 17. WHEN THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN, THE NOSE LANDING GEAR FOLDED AND THE AIRPLANE SKIDDED TO A HALT. ACCORDING TO THE FAA INSPECTOR'S REPORT, THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN 4,500 FEET PAST THE RUNWAY 35 THRESHOLD (8,900 FEET X 100 FEET, ASPHALT), ENCOUNTERED A GUST OF WIND, AND DRIFTED TO THE RIGHT. IT STRUCK A SNOW BANK AT THE 5,900-FOOT MARK. THE PILOT ABORTED THE LANDING AND MADE A TEARDROP TURN BACK TO RUNWAY 17. THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN 2,750 FEET FROM THE END OF RUNWAY 35 AND SKIDDED TO A HALT 1,800 FEET FROM THE END OF THE RUNWAY (SEE AIRPORT DIAGRAM). THE NOSEWHEEL WAS BENT AFT AND THE FIREWALL WAS BUCKLED. EMPLOYEES AT THE AIRPORT WITNESSED THE ACCIDENT. ONE EMPLOYEE SAID THE WIND HAD BEEN GUSTING BETWEEN 24 AND 30 KNOTS. THE PILOT "OVERFLEW 2/3 OF RUNWAY ON FIRST APPROACH AND ATTEMPTED TO LAND, DRIFTING TO THE EAST OF THE RUNWAY, NEARLY CARTWHEELING," WROTE ONE EMPLOYEE. HE ADVISED THE PILOT VIA RADIO THAT HIS NOSE LANDING GEAR HAD BEEN DAMAGED BUT THERE WAS NO RESPONSE." ACCORDING TO THE PIPER PA-32-300 PILOT'S OPERATING HANDBOOK (P. 2-7), THE DEMONSTRATED CROSSWIND COMPONENT, WHICH IS PLACARDED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL "IN FULL VIEW OF THE PILOT," IS 17 KNOTS. THE ANGULAR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE RUNWAY HEADINGS (350 DEGREES AND 170 DEGREES) AND THE REPORTED WIND DIRECTION (260 DEGREES) IS 090 DEGREES. ACCORDING TO THE CROSSWIND/HEADWIND COMPONENT CHART, THIS WOULD RESULT IN A DIRECT 90 DEGREE LEFT CROSSWIND (WHEN LANDING ON RUNWAY 35) AND A DIRECT 90 DEGREE RIGHT CROSSWIND (WHEN LANDING ON RUNWAY 17). THE CROSSWIND COMPONENT WOULD BE 20 KNOTS, 24 KNOTS, OR 30 KNOTS, DEPENDING ON THE REPORTED WIND VELOCITY AND GUSTS. RECORDED WINDS AT TAOS, NEW MEXICO (THE NEAREST WEATHER REPORTING STATION), LOCATED 23 N.M. WEST OF ANGEL FIRE, WERE SIMILAR TO THOSE REPORTED AT ANGEL FIRE: 260 DEGREES AT 18 KNOTS, WITH GUSTS TO 21 KNOTS. ## 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 DEN01LA054](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN01LA054), Feb 18, 2001: Piper PA-32-300 (N3051U), Angel Fire, NM, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during landing. Contributing factors were the crosswind, the pilot exceeding the published maximum demonstrated crosswind component, and the… 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.