- Date
- June 7, 2010, 17:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Brookshire, TX
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N55208Piper PA-28R-200
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Windshear or thunderstorm
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 21, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- Case key
- 76321
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 during the landing roll.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the pilot, during the final approach to a wet grass strip the airplane encountered a downdraft. Upon touchdown, the airplane began to drift to the left and the pilot corrected with right rudder. The left main landing gear impacted two concrete driveways off of the left side of the runway that protrude from the ground between four and six inches. After impacting the second driveway the left main landing gear separated and impacted the empennage. The left wing spar was bent. An examination of the airplane's systems conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration revealed no preimpact anomalies and the pilot confirmed that there was nothing mechanically wrong with the airplane at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, during the final approach to a wet grass strip the airplane encountered a downdraft. Upon touchdown, the airplane began to drift to the left, and the pilot corrected with right rudder. The left main landing gear impacted two concrete driveway's off of the left side of the runway which protrude from the ground between four and six inches. After impacting the second driveway the left main landing gear separated and impacted the empennage. The left wing spar was bent. An examination of the airplane's systems, conducted by the FAA, revealed no anomalies. The pilot confirmed that there was nothing mechanically wrong with the airplane at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N55208
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-7335194
- Airframe hours
- 8,412
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-C1C, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 23, 2009
- Departed
- KCZT · Carrizo Springs, TX
- Destination
- 27XS · Brookshire, TX
- Airport
- 27XS · Sport Flyers Field, runway 35, 4,100 × 150 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
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 8, 2009
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 364 total · 20 in this make and model · 260 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.72 inHg
- Observed at
- KSGR, 20 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 23, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 173 KB in all.