- Date
- August 4, 2003, 13:10 local (17:10 UTC)
- Place
- Greenville, NC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6JHPiper PA-32-260
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Greensboro FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030804017979A
- Case key
- 57667
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control after an aborted landing and subsequent collision with an airport runway sign.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the pilot, on touchdown the airplane veered right. The pilot applied full engine throttle in an attempt to gain altitude and airspeed. The right wing hit a runway sign to the right of runway 26, and at this point the right wing tank was ruptured. The pilot retarded the throttle and attempted to land in the grass on the other side of intersecting runway 20. The airplane slid across the intersection and the right wing caught fire. The airplane came to rest approximately 1000 feet right of the centerline of runway 20.
Factual narrative
On August 4, 2003, at 1310 eastern daylight time, a Piper, PA-32-260, N6JH, owned by Phoenix Flying INC. and operated by a private pilot, collided with an airport sign after an aborted landing at Pitt-Greenville Airport , Greenville, North Carolina. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the private pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight departed Columbus County Airport, in Whiteville, North Carolina, at 1200, on August 4, 2003.
According to the pilot, at touchdown on runway 26 the airplane veered right. The pilot applied full engine throttle in an attempt to gain altitude and airspeed. The right wing hit a runway sign to the right of runway 26, and at this point the right wing tank was ruptured. The pilot retarded the throttle and attempted to land in the grass on the other side of intersecting runway 20. The airplane slid across the intersection and the right wing caught fire. The airplane came to rest approximately 1000 feet right of the centerline of runway 20.
Examination of the airplane revealed that the right wing had been fire damaged. The right wing had crush damage along approximately 3 feet of its leading edge. Right wing skin was found where the airplane came to rest. The pilot reported that after exiting the airplane the right wing fuel tank exploded. No flight control malfunctions were reported by the pilot.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6JH
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-260
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-712
- Airframe hours
- 5,484.76
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-E4B5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Steven Krpata
- Registered owner
- Phoenix Flying, INC.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 27, 2003 · 21.83 hours before
- Departed
- CPC · Whiteville, NC
- Destination
- PGV · Greenville, NC
- Airport
- PGV · Pitt-Greenville Airport, runway 26, 4,997 × 150 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- May 30, 2003
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 400 total · 200 in this make and model · 340 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.03 inHg
- Observed at
- PGV
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.