- Date
- May 6, 2025, 16:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Reading, PA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N289RSShoemaker Ronald R Pazmany PL-2
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing area undershoot
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 14, 2025
- 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
- 20250506007379A
- Case key
- 200297
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 a proper descent rate, resulting in a hard landing short of the runway and collapse of the right main landing gear.
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 reported that he purchased the airplane earlier that day and completed a condition inspection that afternoon. The previous owner suggested performing a couple of touch-and-go landings and some air work in preparation for the planned flight to the airplane’s home base. The pilot stated that the takeoff, climb, crosswind, and downwind legs of the traffic pattern were normal. While on the base-to-final turn, the airplane was high, and when the pilot reduced engine power, it developed a high sink rate. He did not correct the sink rate with additional power, and the airplane landed short of the runway. It then bounced to the runway threshold, and the right main landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane’s right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot further stated that since he had no prior flight experience with the airplane, additional flight planning and familiarization of the airplane’s flight characteristics prior to departure could have prevented the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N289RS
- Reported as
- Shoemaker Ronald R Pazmany PL-2
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 089
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 524
- Engine
- Lycoming O320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · May 6, 2025 · 0 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- RDG · Reading Rgnl/Carl A Spaatz Fld, runway 13, 6,350 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic primary flight display, ADS-B, Auto-pilot
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
- 77
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 9, 2025
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 2,123 total · 1 in this make and model · 1,917 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.91 inHg
- Observed at
- RDG
- METAR
- KRDG 062154Z 23004KT 10SM FEW041 BKN070 OVC120 16/12 A2991 RMK AO2 RAE2055B14E48 SLP132 P0000 T01610117
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 14, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.0 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.