# Incident 20170616021639I: Piper PA-31-310, Portsmouth, NH, June 16, 2017

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 16, 2017, 17:01 local time
- Place: Portsmouth, NH
- Airport: Portsmouth International Airpo
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.0779° N, 70.8233° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at PORTSMOUTH INTL AT PEASE (PSM), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.0779&lon=-70.8233&mi=10
- Aircraft: N911SD, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N911SD) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31-310 (registry code 7103102, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-310) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-31-310
- Reported engine: LYCOMING TI0-540 SER
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 5,558 total, 665 in this make and model, 70 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170616021639I

## Narrative

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

PILOT EXPERIENCED DUAL PROPELLER STRIKES DURING LANDING DUE TO GEAR BEING IN THE UP POSITION.  CONDITIONS AT THE TIME OF THE EVENT WERE LIGHT RAIN, 7SM VISIBILITY, BROKEN CLOUDS AT 1400 FT.  RUNWAY 16 IN USE.  PILOT HEARD/FELT METAL CONTACT RUNWAY DURING LANDING FLARE AND IMMEDIATELY POWER AND CLIMBED AWAY FROM THE RUNWAY.  AIRCRAFT ENTERED THE TRAFFIC PATTERN AND RETURNED TO RUNWAY 16 FOR LANDING.  DURING THE GO AROUND AND TRAFFIC PATTERN, PILOT EXPERIENCED NO VIBRATION OR ENGINE ABNORMALITIES.  DAMAGE TO PROPELLER TIPS WAS DISCOVERED AFTER ENGINE SHUTDOWN.  NO OTHER DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT WAS IDENTIFIED.

PILOT REPORTED THAT DURING THE APPROACH, THE AIRCRAFT WAS IN AND OUT OF THE CLOUDS WITH NO FORWARD VISIBILITY.  THE PILOT ELECTED TO USE THE AUTOPILOT DURING THE APPROACH TO DETERMINE OPERATIONAL STATUS.  PILOT DESCRIBED SCENARIO IN WHICH THE AUTOPILOT BEGAN TO DEVIATE LEFT AND RIGHT OF COURSE AT 800 FEET MSL.  AT 400 FEET, THE PILOT DISENGAGED THE AUTOPILOT AND HAND FLEW THE REMAINDER OF THE APPROACH.  THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED HIS FAILURE TO VERIFY "3 GREEN" PRIOR TO LANDING.  THE PILOT STATED THAT HE FELT THAT THE DISCUSSIONS HE HAD WITH THE PASSENGER REGARDING THE AUTOPILOT OVERSHADOWED HIS MIND DURING THE APPROACH AND LANDING AND THAT HE DEVIATED FROM HIS LANDING CHECKLIST.

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.