- Date
- August 23, 2014, 10:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Taylorsville, KY
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N41224Piper PA-28-140
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR go-around: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 27, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20140823015529A
- Case key
- 89954
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 decision to land on a wet runway and delayed go-around attempt, which resulted in a collision with terrain.
Findings · 4
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
According to the pilot, after returning from a local flight he configured the airplane for a short field landing on a 1,600 foot-long grass runway. The airplane touched down about 75 feet (ft) past the runway approach end and the pilot applied brakes, which were ineffective due to the wet landing surface. The pilot stated that he quickly added power and the airplane rolled about 1,350 ft before it lifted off the runway. He then maneuvered to avoid tall obstacles at the end of the runway and entered a shallow left turn, but the airplane descended onto a road. The left main landing gear caught the road embankment, separated, and the airplane continued over the road and came to rest in the grass. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation and that he had successfully landed on the 1,600 foot runway prior to the accident. The airport elevation was 740 ft and the density altitude was 2,671 ft at the time of the accident. Utilizing ambient whether conditions, the only takeoff performance data available in the pilot's operating handbook indicated that the airplane's takeoff distance to clear a 50-foot obstacle should have been approximately 1,500 ft.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, after returning from a local flight he configured the airplane for a short field landing on a 1,600 foot-long grass runway. The airplane touched down about 75 feet (ft) past the runway approach end and the pilot applied brakes, which were ineffective due to the wet landing surface. The pilot stated that he quickly added power and the airplane rolled about 1,350 ft before it lifted off the runway. He then maneuvered to avoid tall obstacles at the end of the runway and entered a shallow left turn, but the airplane descended onto a road. The left main landing gear caught the road embankment, separated, and the airplane continued over the road and came to rest in the grass. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation and that he had successfully landed on the 1600 foot runway prior to the accident. The airport elevation was 740 feet (ft) and the density altitude was 2,671 ft at the time of the accident. Utilizing ambient whether conditions, the only takeoff performance data available in the pilot's operating handbook indicated that the airplane's takeoff distance to clear a 50-foot obstacle should have been approximately 1,500 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N41224
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7425299
- Built
- 1975
- Airframe hours
- 3,404
- Engine
- Lycoming 0-320 SERIES, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 28, 2014
- Departed
- 58KY · Taylorsville, KY
- Destination
- 58KY · Taylorsville, KY
- Airport
- 58KY · Willow Island Airpark, runway 22, 1,600 × 60 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Handheld GPS
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
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 16, 2014
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 231 total · 132 in this make and model · 2 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- LOU, 17 nm away
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 23, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.1 MB 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.