- Date
- July 7, 2002, 13:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Lowell, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N52WPPiper PA-34
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA -- Grand Rapids FSDO
- FAA report
- 20020707014269A
- Case key
- 55199
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 probable cause of this accident was a failure to properly compensate for the current wind conditions. Excessive use of brakes was a contributing factor.
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 aircraft blew a tire on rollout after landing rollout. The pilot stated "I landed on the runway and immediately applied full braking power after getting the right wheel on the grass in hopes of getting better drag, without too much pressure on the tire, instead of asphalt. Approximately 35 feet from the end of the runway the left tire blew. The airplane had slowed to 20 mph at this time and until the tire blew I felt that the situation was under control. The airplane went 15 feet off the end of the runway before stopping." The pilot said under Operator/Owner Safety Recommendation "that better evaluation of wind conditions" may have prevented the accident. "They were not what was on ATIS at GRR."
Factual narrative
On July 7, 2002, at 1:45 edt, a Piper PA-34, N52WP, blew a tire on rollout after landing at Lowell, Michigan. The FAR Part 91 flight was conducted in visual meteorological conditions and was not on a flight plan. The pilot, the only occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from Frankfort, Michigan at 1:30.
The pilot stated "I landed on the runway and immediately applied full braking power after getting the right wheel on the grass in hopes of getting better drag, with out too much pressure on the tire, instead of asphalt. Approximately 35 feet from the end of the runway the left tire blew. The airplane had slowed to 20 mph at this time and until the tire blew I felt that the situation was under control. The airplane went 15 feet off the end of the runway before stopping." The pilot said under Operator/Owner Safety Recommendation "that better evaluation of wind conditions" may have prevented the accident. "They were not what was on ATIS at GRR."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N52WP
- Reported as
- Piper PA-34
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 76-70182
- Airframe hours
- 3,250
- Engine
- Continental 360-E, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- STT Inc.
- Registered owner
- David Rusch
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 21, 2001 · 180 hours before
- Departed
- 3D4 · Frankfort, MI
- Destination
- Lowell, MI
- Airport
- 24C · Lowell City, runway 12
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
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 624 total · 440 in this make and model · 435 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 28, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 425 KB 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.