# Incident 20250125001199I: Piper PA-28-180, Waterville, ME, January 25, 2025

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 25, 2025, 15:46 local time
- Place: Waterville, ME
- Airport: Waterville Robert Lafleur
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.5332° N, 69.6755° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at Waterville Robert Lafleur Airport (WVL), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.5332&lon=-69.6755&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7344W, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N7344W) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-180 (registry code 7102808, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-180) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-28-180
- Reported engine: LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 210 total, 108 in this make and model, 26 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250125001199I

## Narrative

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

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.

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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