- Date
- April 17, 2001, 16:50 local (21:50 UTC)
- Place
- Saint Cloud, MN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7576JPiper PA-28R-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 23, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20010417014689A
- Case key
- 52124
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 inadvertent wheels-up landing by the pilot. A factor was the pilots failure to follow the before landing checklist.
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
The airplane was substantially damaged during a wheels-up landing. In a written statement the pilot stated that he, "...forgot to lower [the] wheels." One item of the 'Before landing check list' says, "5. Gear - DOWN & LOCKED (150 MPH MAX)."
Factual narrative
On April 17, 2001, at 1650 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-180, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged during a wheels-up landing on runway 31 (5,200 feet by 100 feet, asphalt), at the Saint Cloud Regional Airport, Saint Cloud, Minnesota. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 and was not on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot reported no injuries to himself or to his one passenger. The local flight originated at an undetermined time.
In a written statement the pilot stated that he, "...forgot to lower [the] wheels."
The "Before landing check list" from Section III of the Owners Handbook for the PA-28R-180 states:
1. Fuel - on proper tank
2. Electric fuel pump - ON
3. Mixture - set
4. Prop - set
5. Gear - DOWN & LOCKED (150 MPH MAX)
6. Flaps - set (125 MPH MAX)
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7576J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-30965
- Airframe hours
- 3,552
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Darrell U. Theisen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 4, 2000 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- STC · St Cloud, MN
- Destination
- STC · St Cloud, MN
- Airport
- STC · St Cloud Muni, runway 31, 5,200 × 100 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
- 52
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- July 12, 2000
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 548 total · 330 in this make and model · 548 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 16 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.44 inHg
- Observed at
- STC
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 N7576J · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.