- Date
- November 16, 1995, 13:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Heber Springs, AR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N6551JPiper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 17, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19951116036629A
- Case key
- 19711
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane during transition from landing roll to taxi. A factor relating to the accident was: a soft area in the grass runway.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot reported to an FAA inspector that during landing roll at a private grass strip, he 'lost control of the aircraft, when he ran into soft terrain.' In the Pilot/Operator Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the pilot reported that as he was 'taxiing off [the] strip to park', he 'crossed [a] ditch' and the nose gear collapsed. The airplane came to rest inverted, adjacent to the runway. Both wings and the fire wall were structurally damaged. No mechanical defects were found that would have contributed to the nose gear collapse.
Factual narrative
On November 16, 1995, approximately 1315 central standard time, a Piper PA-28, N6551J, registered to a private owner, and operated as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 flight, was substantially damaged during landing at a private grass airstrip, near Heber Springs, Arkansas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The commercial pilot-in-command was not injured. The flight originated from Searcy, Arkansas about 45 minutes prior to the accident.
The pilot reported to a FAA inspector that, during landing roll, he "lost control of the aircraft when he ran into soft terrain." In the Pilot/Operator Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the pilot reported that, as he was "taxiing off [the] strip to park", he "crossed [a] ditch" and the nose gear collapsed. The airplane came to rest inverted, adjacent to the runway. Both wings and the fire wall were structurally damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6551J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-4996
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A3A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert Gebhert
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 5, 1995
- Departed
- M07 · Searcy, AR
- Airport
- runway 18, 1,200 × 35 ft, grass/turf
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 600 total · 55 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 2 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.