- Date
- January 24, 1998, 13:15 local (20:15 UTC)
- Place
- Taos, NM
- Injuries
- 6 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N376AAPiper PA-32RT-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 26, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980124000569A
- Case key
- 20521
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 flare and improper recovery from a bounced landing.
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
During a landing at the termination of a cross-country flight, the aircraft was landed hard, and it bounced four times. The right main landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft departed the runway and came to rest off the departure end of the runway of intended landing.
Factual narrative
On January 24, 1998, at 1315 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-32RT-300, N376AA, operated by Flight Training Center, Watkins, Colorado, sustained substantial damage to the right wing and tail cone during landing at Taos, New Mexico. The private pilot and his 5 passengers were not injured and a VFR flight plan was filed for this personal flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from Front Range Airport, Watkins, Colorado, with an en route passenger stop at Fort Collins, Colorado, Visual Meteorological conditions prevailed.
According to the pilot, he conducted a visual approach to runway 22 with the wind reported by UNICOM to be from 220 degrees magnetic at 3 to 6 knots. (The AWOS reported wind was from 290 degrees at 4 knots). The pilot said he used 90 knots as his approach speed and the aircraft ballooned in the flare and appeared to him to veer to the left with the nose pitching up. The pilot reported he considered a "go around" but decided against it due to low speed and power. The pilot stated he "felt something was wrong with the right landing gear" so he cut power and "rode out" the landing using left rudder and aileron to control direction and keep the right wing level. He said the airplane went off the side of the runway and came to a stop in the dirt. He said he cut the "mixture, fuel, and master," and he and his passengers exited the aircraft.
According to the attached report by the FAA Inspector who went on scene, a witness, and the witness marks on the runway, the approach was to runway 4. The witness said the aircraft landed hard and went off the left side of the runway and bounced four times before the right main landing gear failed. The witness marks provided evidence the aircraft came to rest 20 feet beyond the departure end of runway 4 and the aircraft provided evidence the right main landing gear failed in the aft direction.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N376AA
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32RT-300 (PA-32RT-30)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7885094
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Flight Training Center
- Registered owner
- Peter Carlson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- FNL · Fort Collins, CO
- Destination
- SKX
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- SKX · Taos, runway 4, 5,798 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 53
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 310 total · 4 in this make and model · 240 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SKX, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.