- Date
- June 22, 2022, 10:45 local (14:45 UTC)
- Place
- Manassas, VA · On airport
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6599WPiper PA-28-140
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- 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
- 20220622010939A
- Case key
- 105336
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 improper landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing and subsequent nose landing gear collapse.
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 student pilot was landing the airplane and during the landing flare the airplane bounced twice before the nose landing gear collapsed. This resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage aft of the firewall. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6599W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-20690
- Built
- 1965
- Airframe hours
- 4,603
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Commonwealth Aviation
- Registered owner
- N6599w LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 20, 2022
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- HEF · Manassas Rgnl/Harry P Davis Fld, runway 34L, 6,200 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 26
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 23.7 total · 23.7 in this make and model · 2.4 as pilot in command · 23.7 in the last 90 days · 11.3 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 77 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.74 inHg
- Observed at
- KHEF
- METAR
- METAR KHEF 211456Z 21004KT 10SM CLR 31/25 A2974
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 17, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.7 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.