- Date
- August 15, 1998, 10:25 local (15:25 UTC)
- Place
- Paris, TN
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9721DPiper PA-22-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980815021049A
- Case key
- 43649
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 improper landing flare that resulted in an overload failure of the left main landing gear.
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
The pilot established an approach for runway 27. According to the pilot, 'it seemed that I was too high, so I dropped the flaps. My descent was uncontrolled and I hit the strip very hard'. The nose gear and the left main landing gear collapsed after the airplane touched down about 400 feet from the approach end of the sod runway. There were no known mechanical problems with the airplane
Factual narrative
On August 15,1998, at 1025 central daylight time, a Piper PA-22-150, N9721D, collided with the ground and collapsed the landing gear, at a private airstrip near Paris, Tennessee. The personal flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Weather data from the nearest reporting facility revealed that visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The private pilot received minor injuries. Examination of the airplane at the accident site disclosed that the airframe had sustained substantial damage. According to the pilot, the flight departed Camden, Tennessee, at 1000.
The pilot stated that he had conducted a visual over flight of the airport to determine the direction of the landing runway and general airstrip condition. The pilot established an approach for runway 27. According to the pilot, "it seemed that I was too high, so I dropped the flaps. My descent was uncontrolled and I hit the strip very hard". The nose gear and the left main landing gear collapsed after the airplane touched down about 400 feet from the approach end of the sod runway.
The pilot stated that there were no known mechanical problems with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9721D
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 226638
- Airframe hours
- 2,586
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lawrence G. Atkins
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 12, 1998 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- 0M4 · Camden, TN
- Airport
- Private Airstrip, runway 9, 3,000 × 500 ft, grass/turf
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
- 72
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 246 total · 237 in this make and model · 236 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 20° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MLK, 50 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.