- Date
- June 15, 2021, 19:25 local (Jun 16, 2021, 00:25 UTC)
- Place
- Ozark, AL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4281JPiper PA-28-140
- 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 - FSDO
- FAA report
- 20210616007789A
- Case key
- 103274
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 a crosswind landing, which resulted in a runway excursion.
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 student pilot was landing the airplane in a crosswind and reported that on final approach a gust of wind pushed the airplane to the right of centerline. As it crossed the runway numbers the pilot applied “too much” back pressure, the airplane ballooned, bounced, and settled onto the runway. The airplane then began to veer to the right, and pilot attempted to correct the movement but overcorrected and the airplane veered to the left into the grass. The pilot realized that the airplane was not slowing, applied “more pressure” to the brakes, but the airplane proceeded down an incline. The nose landing gear then collapsed, and the airplane nosed over coming to rest inverted resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage cabin, rudder, and left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4281J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-22641
- Built
- 1967
- Airframe hours
- 4,470
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 140 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 24, 2021
- Airport
- 71J · Ozark-Blackwell Field, runway 13/31, 5,152 × 80 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Handheld GPS, Stall warning system
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
- 34
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 20.3 total · 20 in this make and model · 3.4 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- HEY, 5 nm away
- METAR
- KHEY 160058Z AUTO 23004KT 8SM CLR 27/22 A2990 RMK AO2 SLP124 T02660218
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 15, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.7 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.