- Date
- February 12, 1989, 14:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Stevens Point, WI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N16TPPiper PA-28R-201
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 18, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890212003769A
- Case key
- 14324
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain directional control which resulted in an inadvertent ground swerve.
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 pilot reported that 'just as the main gear touched (the runway) the aircraft turned to the left as if the left brake had locked or had been pushed by a strong left crosswind . . .' Subsequently, the aircraft's right main landing gear collapsed, followed by the nose gear, then the aircraft skidded to a stop on the runway. Winds at the uncontrolled airport were reported to be aligned with the runway at about 8 knots. A post-accident examination of the left wheel and brake assembly revealed no indication of a pre-accident malfunction. An inspection of the right main landing gear truss assembly indicated it had failed in overload. No progressive failure was evident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N16TP
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R-201
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-7837217
- Airframe hours
- 1,165
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-C1C6, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Plodzien, Thomas J.
- Registered owner
- Plodzien, Thomas J.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 31, 1988 · 76 hours before
- Departed
- STE
- Destination
- STE
- Airport
- STE · Stevens Point, runway 21, 6,028 × 120 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
- 53
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,045 total · 945 in this make and model · 985 as pilot in command · 46 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 9 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AUW, 23 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.