- Date
- May 27, 2022, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Princeton, MN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N2899NPiper PA-32-300
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20220527005359A
- Case key
- 105159
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 proper approach glide path, which resulted in a collision with trees.
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.
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 private pilot and flight instructor were conducting a flight review. During the attempted short-field landing, the pilot slowed the airplane to 70 kts, about 10 kts slower than usual, and planned to make a “shallower than normal final approach.” While on short final, the airplane descended too low, and the airplane collided with a small tree. The airplane subsequently veered left, landed short of the runway, and impacted several taxiway lights, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing and left aileron. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and that he let the airplane get too low and slow on final approach.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2899N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-7940193
- Built
- 1979
- Airframe hours
- 7,468.74
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1G5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Tailwinds Flying Club
- Registered owner
- Tailwinds Flying Club
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 19, 2022 · 10.6 hours before
- Departed
- MIC · Minneapolis, MN
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- PNM · Princeton Municipal Airport, runway 16, 3,900 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, Handheld GPS, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Angle of attack indicator
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 23, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,132 total · 463 in this make and model · 835 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Remote, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 13, 2020
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 6 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.54 inHg
- Observed at
- KPNM
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 27, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.0 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.