# Incident 20220708012069I: Piper PA-22-108, Estancia, NM, July 8, 2022

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 8, 2022, 14:00 local time
- Place: Estancia, NM
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Rollout
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.7650° N, 106.0335° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Estancia, NM, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.7650&lon=-106.0335&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5824Z (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-22-108
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-235 SERIES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot, unknown or foreign certificate
- Pilot flight hours: 4,000 total, 40 in this make and model, 250 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220708012069I

## Narrative

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

ON JULY 8, 2022, AT 1420 MDT, A PA-22-108 PIPER COLT, SINGLE ENGINE AIRCRAFT, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ MADE AN OFF FIELD LANDING NEAR ESTANCIA, NM (34.40°N 105.58°W).  THE PRIVATE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER, A COMMERCIAL PILOT AND FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR, SUSTAINED NO INJURIES.  AIRCRAFT DAMAGE WAS MINOR, CONSISTING OF A BENT NOSE GEAR AND BROKEN WINDSCREEN.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AND OPERATED IN VFR CONDITIONS FROM TRADEWIND AIRPORT (TDW) NEAR AMARILLO, TX ON JULY 8, 2022, AT 1237 CDT.  NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED AND FLIGHT FOLLOWING WAS NOT REQUESTED.

THE PILOT STATED THAT THE DENSITY ALTITUDE AT DEPARTURE WAS 9,000 FEET.  ENROUTE TO BELEN ALEXANDER AIRPORT, NM (BRG), ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ EXPERIENCED 700 TO 900 FPM UP AND DOWN DRAFTS ASSOCIATED WITH THERMAL ACTIVITY.  BOTH PILOTS RECOGNIZED THAT AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE WAS DEGRADING AND THAT THEY WOULD NOT OUT CLIMB THE RISING TERRAIN AHEAD.  THEY OPTED TO MAKE A SOFT FIELD LANDING ON A SALT FLAT ABOUT 6 MILES EAST OF ESTANCIA MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (E92).  AS THE AIRCRAFT SLOWED, IT BROKE THROUGH THE HARD THIN SURFACE OF THE SALT FLAT AND FLIPPED NOSE FIRST IN THE MUD.

INCIDENT IS RELATED TO INCORRECT KNOWLEDGE AND INTERPRETING THE SITUATION INCORRECTLY.  THE DECISION TO LAND ON AN UNIMPROVED SALT FLAT WHEN AN AIRPORT WAS LOCATED ABOUT 6 MILES AWAY REFLECTS POOR PLANNING.

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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