20250125001199I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA-28-180 · Waterville, ME · January 25, 2025

Date
January 25, 2025 · 15:46 local
Place
Waterville, ME
Airport
Waterville Robert Lafleur
Phase of flight
Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N7344W
Reported as
Piper PA-28-180
Reported engine
Lycoming O&VO-360 series
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
210 total108 in this make and model26 in the last 90 days

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.

The pilot approached Robert Lafleur airport (kwvl) from the south, as the sole occupant of the aircraft. The pilot stated that the automated surface observing system (ASOS) reported winds from 210 at 7 knots, so he entered the left downwind for runway 23 and flew a standard traffic pattern. On short final, he transitioned from a crab to a sideslip with left aileron and right rudder inputs to maintain straight ahead orientation on the centerline. The pilot reported touchdown on the main landing gear was smooth, but he did not completely neutralize his rudder input. As a result, he quickly advanced to the right edge of the runway following the touchdown of his nose gear. The pilot removed flaps and began applying his brakes while applying left rudder. Unfortunately, the pilot stated he applied too much left rudder too quickly and the plane began skidding. The pilot attempted to neutralize his rudder inputs to straighten the nose gear and stop the skid. The right wingtip then dipped and began to scrape the runway. The pilot stated almost instantaneously following this, the plane nosed forward, and the propeller began striking the runway. Within approximately one-half second, he closed the throttle and took the mixture to idle cutoff. As the engine stopped, he reached the left edge of the runway and came to a stop in the snow adjacent to the runway.

As the FAA filed it

THE PILOT APPROACHED ROBERT LAFLEUR AIRPORT (KWVL) FROM THE SOUTH, AS THE SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT. THE PILOT STATED THAT THE AUTOMATED SURFACE OBSERVING SYSTEM (ASOS) REPORTED WINDS FROM 210 AT 7 KNOTS, SO HE ENTERED THE LEFT DOWNWIND FOR RUNWAY 23 AND FLEW A STANDARD TRAFFIC PATTERN. ON SHORT FINAL, HE TRANSITIONED FROM A CRAB TO A SIDESLIP WITH LEFT AILERON AND RIGHT RUDDER INPUTS TO MAINTAIN STRAIGHT AHEAD ORIENTATION ON THE CENTERLINE. THE PILOT REPORTED TOUCHDOWN ON THE MAIN LANDING GEAR WAS SMOOTH, BUT HE DID NOT COMPLETELY NEUTRALIZE HIS RUDDER INPUT. AS A RESULT, HE QUICKLY ADVANCED TO THE RIGHT EDGE OF THE RUNWAY FOLLOWING THE TOUCHDOWN OF HIS NOSE GEAR. THE PILOT REMOVED FLAPS AND BEGAN APPLYING HIS BRAKES WHILE APPLYING LEFT RUDDER. UNFORTUNATELY, THE PILOT STATED HE APPLIED TOO MUCH LEFT RUDDER TOO QUICKLY AND THE PLANE BEGAN SKIDDING. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO NEUTRALIZE HIS RUDDER INPUTS TO STRAIGHTEN THE NOSE GEAR AND STOP THE SKID. THE RIGHT WINGTIP THEN DIPPED AND BEGAN TO SCRAPE THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT STATED ALMOST INSTANTANEOUSLY FOLLOWING THIS, THE PLANE NOSED FORWARD, AND THE PROPELLER BEGAN STRIKING THE RUNWAY. WITHIN APPROXIMATELY ONE-HALF SECOND, HE CLOSED THE THROTTLE AND TOOK THE MIXTURE TO IDLE CUTOFF. AS THE ENGINE STOPPED, HE REACHED THE LEFT EDGE OF THE RUNWAY AND CAME TO A STOP IN THE SNOW ADJACENT TO THE RUNWAY.