- Date
- May 31, 2022, 19:25 local (23:25 UTC)
- Place
- Simsbury, CT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2973KPiper PA28
- Defining event
- Landing-aborted after touchdown: Runway excursion
- 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
- 20220531009199A
- Case key
- 105166
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 delayed decision to abort the landing, which resulted in a runway overrun.
Findings · 1
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 on a cross country flight and at the destination airport entered the right downwind leg of the airport traffic pattern, then turned onto right base leg of the airport traffic pattern. Because of “excessive wind gusts” on final approach he performed a go-around and remained in the traffic pattern for the same runway. On final approach the flight again encountered a wind gust and the airplane descended. He added power to arrest the descent but the airplane then floated down the runway. The airplane touched down just prior to a taxiway, with about 959 ft of runway available. He applied the brakes but realized he would be unable to stop before the runway end. He applied power to abort the landing, but the airplane did not climb as he expected and it travelled off the end of the runway into a farm field. He did not recall if he applied the brakes or reduced power in an attempt to abort the aborted landing. The airplane impacted a metal frame that enclosed plants and came to rest with the nose landing gear collapsed. The engine mount was substantially damaged. He reported that when he added full power to go-around the engine responded, the airplane was decelerating with initial brake application, and there was nothing mechanically wrong with the airplane that resulted in the runway excursion. Postaccident examination revealed the flap selector was in the retracted position.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2973K
- Reported as
- Piper PA28 (161)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-8016007
- Built
- 1979
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 Series, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 23, 2021
- Departed
- FRG · Farmingdale, NY
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 4B9 · Simsbury Airport, runway 21, 2,205 × 50 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, 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
- 63
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 14, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 230 total · 200 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Turbulence
- Light
- Observed at
- KBDL, 5 nm away
- METAR
- KBDL 312351Z 18012KT 10SM FEW080 BKN100 BKN250 26/17 A2990 RMK AO2 SLP125 T02560172 10339 20256 53010
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 14, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 15.3 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.