- Date
- March 20, 2009, 14:40 local (18:40 UTC)
- Place
- Dover, DE
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N41568Piper PA28-151
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 11, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- FAA report
- 20090320004219A
- Case key
- 73533
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.
Findings · 3
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 conducted one landing on runway 27, but he "did not like it" because it was "gusty," so he opted to conduct a second landing. The pilot stated that as the airplane was "nearing touchdown," it unexpectedly began a turn to the left. The airplane first touched down approximately 75 feet left of the edge of the runway. It continued on a southerly arc away from the runway, passed through an aircraft tie-down area, and struck two parked airplanes. The accident airplane's right wing separated from the fuselage at the wing root, and the airplane came to rest approximately 346 feet from the centerline of the runway. Runway 27 was 3,582 feet long and 60 feet wide, with a displaced threshold of 350 feet. The only wind information available at the accident airport was a wind sock. About the time of the accident, winds at an airport 9 miles southeast of the airport were reported to be from 330 degrees at 12 knots, with gusts to 18 knots. Calculations revealed that if these winds were present at the accident airport, they would have resulted in crosswind components from 11.7 to 17.5 knots. A required cockpit placard in the airplane stated that the "demonstrated crosswind component" was 17 knots. The pilot reported that he obtained his weather information from commercial television and radio stations. He did not report experiencing any mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane during the accident landing.
Factual narrative
"THIS CASE WAS MODIFIED MAY 5, 2009." The pilot conducted one landing on runway 27, but he "did not like it" because it was "gusty," so he opted to conduct a second landing. The pilot stated that as the airplane was "nearing touchdown," it unexpectedly began a turn to the left. The airplane first touched down approximately 75 feet left of the edge of the runway. It continued on a southerly arc away from the runway, passed through an aircraft tie-down area, and struck two parked airplanes. The accident airplane's right wing separated from the fuselage at the wing root, and the airplane came to rest approximately 346 feet from the centerline of the runway. Runway 27 was 3,582 feet long, 60 feet wide, with a displaced threshold of 350 feet. The only wind information available at the accident airport was a wind sock. About the time of the accident, winds at an airport 9 miles southeast of the airport were reported to be from 330 degrees at 12 knots, with gusts to 18 knots. Calculations revealed that if these winds were present at the accident airport, they would have resulted in crosswind components from 11.7 to 17.5 knots. A required cockpit placard in the airplane stated that the "demonstrated crosswind component" was 17 knots. The pilot reported that he obtained his weather information from commercial television and radio stations. He did not report experiencing any mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane during the accident landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N41568
- Reported as
- Piper PA28-151
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7415274
- Airframe hours
- 3,557
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Phill-Air Inc
- Registered owner
- Phill-Air Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 12, 2008
- Departed
- 33N · Dover, DE
- Destination
- 33N · Dover, DE
- Airport
- 33N · Delaware Airpark, runway 27, 3,582 × 60 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
- 59
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 8, 2007
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 181 total · 39 in this make and model · 147 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 12 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Observed at
- DOV, 9 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.