- Date
- March 25, 2006, 12:20 local (18:20 UTC)
- Place
- South St. Paul, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1579APiper PA-20
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - Minneapolis FSDO
- FAA report
- 20060325005159A
- Case key
- 63713
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 landing roll, which resulted in the collapse of the right main landing gear. A factor associated with the accident was a tailwind.
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 tailwheel airplane veered off the left side of runway 16 during the landing roll. The pilot reported that he had been practicing full-stop landings, and that all of his previous landings that day had been uneventful. The pilot stated that the airplane touched-down in a three-point stance and was tracking down the runway. After touchdown, the pilot reported he had the flight control yoke pulled all the way back, engine power all the way off, and he was braking evenly to bring the airplane to a stop. During landing roll the pilot related the airplane veered to the left without warning. The right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane departed off the left side of the runway. The pilot noted having 19.6 hours in tailwheel airplanes, which included 12.6 hours in the same make/model as the accident airplane. The wind conditions at the time of the accident were from 360 degrees magnetic at 4 knots.
Factual narrative
On March 25, 2006, at 1220 central standard time, a Piper PA-20, N1579A, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged while landing on runway 16 (4,001 feet by 100 feet, asphalt) at the South St. Paul Municipal Airport (SGS), South St. Paul, Minnesota. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot was not injured. The flight departed Faribault Municipal Airport (FBL), Faribault, Minnesota, at 1130.
The pilot reported that he had been practicing full-stop landings and that all of his previous landings that day had been "uneventful." The pilot stated that the airplane touched-down in a "three-point stance tracking down the runway." After touchdown, the pilot reportedly had the flight control yoke "pulled all the way back", engine power "all the way off", and he was braking "evenly to bring the airplane to a stop." During landing roll the airplane "veered to the left without warning." The right main landing gear collapsed and the airplane departed off the left side of the runway. The pilot noted having 19.6 hours in tailwheel airplanes, which included 12.6 hours in the same make/model as the accident airplane.
The wind conditions at the time of the accident were from 360 degrees magnetic at 4 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1579A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-20
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20-813
- Airframe hours
- 2,686.3
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-D, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 1, 2006 · 6.5 hours before
- Departed
- FBL · Faribault, MN
- Destination
- SGS · South St. Paul, MN
- Airport
- SGS · South St. Paul Municipal, runway 16, 4,001 × 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
- 27
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 1, 2005
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 167 total · 13 in this make and model · 87 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 23 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.31 inHg
- Observed at
- SGS
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.