CEN20CA137

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA-28-235C · Omaha, NE · March 31, 2020

Accident · No injuriesData collectionFinal report
Date
March 31, 2020, 18:44 local (23:44 UTC)
Place
Omaha, NE
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N9468WPiper PA-28-235C
Defining event
Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report June 29, 2020
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Central Region
Parties
FAA Flight Standards District Office
FAA report
20200331003969A
Case key
101140

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 student pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing, subsequent loss of directional control, and the airplane going down an embankment.

Findings · 3

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.

Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilotPiper PA-28-235: 28 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause
Performance/control parameters: directional controlAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedPiper PA-28-235: 10 casesAll aircraft: 3,958 casesProbable cause
Performance/control parameters: landing flareAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedPiper PA-28-235: 6 casesAll aircraft: 1,285 casesProbable cause

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

The student pilot reported that, during landing following his third solo cross-country flight, the airplane touched down and then bounced. The right wing dropped, and the right main landing gear touched down, followed by the nose landing gear. The airplane turned hard to the left, but the airplane was too close to the runway edge to turn and remain on the runway, so the student applied maximum braking and raised the nose to try to slow the airplane. The airplane went down an embankment at an angle, the left wing struck the ground and separated from the fuselage, and the nose landing gear bent aft, which bent the engine mounts and buckled the firewall. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Factual narrative

The pilot was returning from his third solo cross country flight. He made a stop-and-go and a touch-and-go landing at another airport, then returned to his home base and landed on runway 12. The wind was from 180° at 6 knots with variable gusts. The airplane touched down and bounced. The right wing dropped and the right main landing gear touched down, followed by the nose landing gear. The airplane turned hard to the left but the airplane was too close to the runway edge to turn and remain on the runway so the pilot applied maximum braking and raised the nose to try and slow the airplane down. The airplane went down an 8 to 10 ft embankment at an angle. At the bottom of the embankment the left wing struck the ground and it separated from the fuselage, and the nose landing gear bent aft which bent the engine mounts and buckled the firewall. There were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations.

Aircraft

Registration
N9468W
Reported as
Piper PA-28-235C
Category
Airplane
Serial number
28-11193
Built
1969
Engine
Lycoming O-540-B4B5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Departed
OLU · Columbus, NE
Destination
MLE · Omaha, NE
Flight plan
VFR
Airport
MLE · Millard, runway 12, 3,801 × 75 ft, asphalt
Equipment
Satellite tracking device, ADS-B, Stall warning system

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
34
Injuries
None
Certificate
Student
Medical
Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
Last flight review
March 31, 2020
Seat
Left
Restraint
Lap only
Flight hours
18 total · 18 in this make and model · 4 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
180° at 6 knots, gusting 12
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
70 °F, dew point 39 °F
Altimeter
28.77 inHg
Observed at
MLE

Docket · 2

The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 24, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.2 MB in all.

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.