- Date
- April 22, 2026, 18:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lanett, AL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5958WPiper PA-28-160
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 2026
- 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
- 20260422004539A
- Case key
- 202878
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 control of the airplane during the landing, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with taxiway sign.
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 approaching the destination airport for landing and reported that the landing approach was higher and faster than usual. The airplane floated in ground effect before eventually touching down. While decelerating the airplane during the landing roll, the pilot lost directional control of the airplane, and despite his attempts to make corrective control inputs, the airplane departed the paved runway surface. The airplane subsequently struck a taxiway sign resulting in substantial damage to one of the engine’s mounts. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and that he should have conducted a go-around rather than continue the unstable (high/fast) landing approach.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5958W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-160
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-3764
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- DTS · Destin, FL
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 7A3 · Lanett Rgnl, runway 24, 5,400 × 75 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, 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
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 8, 2026
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 106 total · 90 in this make and model · 38 as pilot in command · 32 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
- Observed at
- AUO, 16 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KAUO 222256Z AUTO 18007KT 10SM SCT090 26/08 A3011 RMK AO2 SLP185 T02560083 $
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 21, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.3 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.