- Date
- March 14, 1999, 15:50 local (20:50 UTC)
- Place
- Laurens, SC
- Injuries
- 6 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N345RPPiper PA-46-350P
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990314024679A
- Case key
- 45893
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 disregard for current wind conditions and his failure to maintain directional control during landing. Factors were the tailwind and wet runway surface.
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, after the touchdown on runway 26, the pilot reported that the braking action did not appear to slow the landing roll speed and a tailwind was encountered on the roll out. The pilot then pulled back on the yoke, at which point the airplane climbed up slightly on the left side and impacted the ground. The airplane began to skid and continued off the left side of the wet runway. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane and a review of weather data from the nearest reporting facility disclosed that, the prevailing winds at the approximate time of the accident were 020 degrees at five knots with gusts to 19 knots. The pilot landed with a tailwind component.
Factual narrative
On March 14, 1999, at 1550, eastern standard time, a Piper PA-46-350P, N345RP, collided with the ground, according to the pilot, during the landing roll at the Laurens County Airport in Laurens, South Carolina. The personal flight was operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Instrument weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. According to the pilot, the airplane sustained substantial airframe damage. The commercial pilot and his five passengers were not injured. The pilot reported that the flight departed Darlington, South Carolina, at 1500.
According to the pilot, upon arriving at the Laurens County Airport, he established a final approach to runway 26. After the touchdown on the wet runway surface, the pilot reported that the braking action did not appear to slow the landing roll speed and a tailwind was encountered. The pilot then pulled back on the yoke, at which point the airplane climbed up slightly on the left side and impacted the ground. The airplane began to skid and continued off the left side of the runway. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane. A review of weather data from the nearest reporting facility disclosed that, the prevailing winds at the approximate time of the accident were 020 degrees at five knots with gusts to 19 knots.
According to the pilot, the airplane sustained substantial damage consisting of, bending of both left and right main wing spars, damage to the engine firewall, twisting of the fuselage, and separation of the nosewheel from the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N345RP
- Reported as
- Piper PA-46-350P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4622096
- Airframe hours
- 2,202
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-AEZA, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ralph F. Patterson Jr.
- Registered owner
- Annie Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 9, 1999 · 24 hours before
- Departed
- UDG · Darlington, SC
- Destination
- 34A · Laurens, SC
- Airport
- 34A · Laurens County, runway 26, 3,900 × 50 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
- 47
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,627 total · 94 in this make and model · 40 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 5 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility
- 1.25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 300 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AND, 48 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.
Other investigations on N345RP · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.