- Date
- November 29, 2020, 10:50 local (15:50 UTC)
- Place
- Bellefonte, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8056NPiper PA28
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20201129017799A
- Case key
- 102374
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 while landing, which resulted in a runway excursion.
Findings · 2
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 was conducting solo touch and go landings and on the fourth landing, the airplane was “blown” off the runway centerline on short final approach. She applied left rudder to return to the centerline, but upon touchdown, there was “…too much left rudder,” and the airplane veered to the left and departed the runway into the grass. The pilot did not apply brakes before impacting a gully and fence, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8056N
- Reported as
- Piper PA28 (140)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-25304
- Built
- 1969
- Airframe hours
- 9,007
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Pleasant Valley Aviation Inc
- Registered owner
- Pleasant Valley Aviation Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 6, 2020
- Departed
- N96 · Bellefonte, PA
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- N96 · Bellefonte, runway 25, 3,680 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- None
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 60.2 total · 60.2 in this make and model · 1.2 as pilot in command · 7.3 in the last 90 days · 4.2 in the last 30 days · 0.4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 34 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- University Park ATIS, 2 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 17, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 10.8 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.