20120505026149I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA-28-140 · Lowell, IN · May 5, 2012

Date
May 5, 2012 · 11:00 local
Place
Lowell, IN
Phase of flight
Landing: Rollout
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N5795U
Reported as
Piper PA-28-140
Reported engine
Lycoming 0-320 series
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Commercial pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
260 total107 in this make and model

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Pilot decision to land downwind caused a high ground speed approach resulting in the aircraft force landing in a field to avoid obstacles. A small furrow in that field caused the aircraft nose gear to fold aft as it came to rest resulting in minimal damage to the propeller and lower cowl.

As the FAA filed it

PILOT DECISION TO LAND DOWNWIND CAUSED A HIGH GROUND SPEED APPROACH RESULTING IN THE AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDING IN A FIELD TO AVOID OBSTACLES. A SMALL FURROW IN THAT FIELD CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT NOSE GEAR TO FOLD AFT AS IT CAME TO REST RESULTING IN MINIMAL DAMAGE TO THE PROPELLER AND LOWER COWL.