- Date
- December 10, 2023, 11:13 local (17:13 UTC)
- Place
- Lubbock, TX · LBB
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8538NPiper PA28
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- 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
- FAA Lubbock FSDO
- FAA report
- 20231210022759A
- Case key
- 193510
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 that resulted in a runway excursion, an impact with a runway sign, and a nose gear collapse.
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
The pilot reported that during the approach the airplane was flying “3-5 mph faster than normal” to account for the gusting wind condition. Just prior to the nosewheel touching down, the pilot felt a “strong gust that pulled the nose of the aircraft into the wind.” As the nosewheel touched down, the pilot applied right rudder, and the airplane departed the runway. The airplane impacted a runway sign, the nose gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest upright with a nose down attitude. The two occupants were able to egress from the airplane without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8538N
- Reported as
- Piper PA28 (235)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-11337
- Built
- 1969
- Airframe hours
- 1,887.68
- Engine
- Lycoming Engines O-540 Series, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 2023
- Departed
- BGD · Borger, TX
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- LBB · Lubbock Preston Smith Intl, runway 08/26, 8,003 × 150 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld 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
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 154 total · 48 in this make and model · 90 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 18 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.34 inHg
- Observed at
- KLBB, 1 nm away
- METAR
- KLBB 101653Z 23018KT 10SM SCT250 07/M07 A3034 RMK AO2 SLP278 T00721067
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 22, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.4 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.