GAA19CA050

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA28 · East Moriches, NY · October 20, 2018

Accident · No injuriesData collectionFinal report
Date
October 20, 2018, 12:15 local (16:15 UTC)
Place
East Moriches, NY
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N8275VPiper PA28
Defining event
Landing: Landing area overshoot
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report April 8, 2019
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
General Aviation Accidents
Parties
FAA
FAA report
20181020020399A
Case key
98605

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot’s delayed initiation of a go-around and his subsequent use of the improper go-around procedure, which resulted in a landing area overshoot.

Findings · 3

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.

Action: delayed actionPersonnel issues › Action/decision · PilotPiper PA-28-161: 10 casesAll aircraft: 894 casesProbable cause
Use of equip/info: use of policy/procedurePersonnel issues › Task performance · PilotPiper PA-28-161: 2 casesAll aircraft: 191 casesProbable cause
Object/animal/substance: poleEnvironmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcomePiper PA-28-161: 4 casesAll aircraft: 142 cases

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 stated that, during the preflight inspection, he did not observe anything abnormal. He added that, during the initial taxi, the airplane "pulled more power than usual" but that he observed no issues with the brakes or flight controls. The pilot reported that, during approach to a 2,300-ft-long grass airstrip about 60 knots with full flaps, he reduced power to idle to flare. The airplane was "still floating," and about midfield, he saw that the rpm had increased with the power at idle to between about 1,000 to 1,200 rpm. He retracted the flaps to 15° to execute a go-around, but before he increased power, the airplane touched down on the runway. He was going to continue the go-around but realized the airplane would be unable to clear power lines and trees at the end of the runway. He then braked hard but was unable to stop the airplane on the grass, so he shut off the fuel pump and closed the mixture. He added that the "engine did not stop," and the airplane continued moving forward due to momentum. He applied full brakes with an "s turn and 180 turn," the airplane slid on the grass, and the left wing struck a wooden pole. The airplane then came to an abrupt stop. The pilot stated that he saw that the engine and propeller had stopped The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that he attempted to examine the engine, but the airplane was unavailable for examination. The airplane manufacturer's prescribed "Go Around" checklist stated: Throttle………………………..FULL Carb Heat……………………….OFF Flaps……….RETRACT TO 20 DEG Vy……………………….….79 KIAS Flaps…………..…RETRACT PROC It is likely that the pilot flew the approach at too high of an airspeed and initiated the go-around too late, which resulted in the airplane floating and the subsequent landing area overshoot.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that the owner wanted him to fly the airplane to a mechanic to look at the airplane "deeply" but did not mention any specific mechanical issues with the airplane. During preflight, he did not observe anything abnormal. He also added that, during the initial taxi, the airplane "pulled more power than usual", but he observed no issues with the brakes or flight controls. The pilot reported that, during approach to a 2,300 ft grass airstrip, about 60 knots with full flaps, he reduced power to idle to flare. The airplane was "still floating" and about midfield he observed that the rpm had increased with the power at idle to about 1,000 to 1,200 rpm. He retracted the flaps to 15° to execute a go around, but before he increased power, the airplane touched down on the runway. He was going to continue the go around but realized the airplane would be unable to clear power lines and trees at the end of the runway. He then braked hard, but was unable to stop on the grass, so he shut off the fuel pump and closed the mixture. He added that the "engine did not stop" and the airplane continued due to momentum. He applied full brakes with an "s turn and 180 turn", the airplane slid on the grass, and the left wing struck a wooden pole. The airplane came to an abrupt stop and he observed the engine and propeller had stopped. He added that he was "very familiar with this airport, and believe[d] the accident [was] due to mechanical failure." The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector reported that he attempted to examine the airplane engine, but the airplane was unavailable. The manufacturer's prescribed "Go Around" checklist stated: Throttle………………………..FULL Carb Heat……………………….OFF Flaps……….RETRACT TO 20 DEG Vy……………………….….79KIAS Flaps…………..…RETRACT PROC

Aircraft

Registration
N8275V
Reported as
Piper PA28 (161)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
28-8316001
Built
1982
Engine
Lycoming O-320 SERIES, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Positioning · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Departed
FRG · Farmingdale, NY
Destination
49N · East Moriches, NY
Flight plan
VFR
Airport
49N · Lufker, runway S, 2,300 × 100 ft, grass/turf
Equipment
Unknown

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
30
Injuries
None
Certificate
Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
Last flight review
March 24, 2018
Seat
Left
Restraint
3-point
Flight hours
1,425 total · 252 in this make and model · 877 as pilot in command · 200 in the last 90 days · 110 in the last 30 days

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
260° at 11 knots, gusting 19
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
2,000 ft broken
Temperature
61 °F, dew point 52 °F
Altimeter
29.70 inHg
Observed at
KHWV, 5 nm away

Docket · 5

The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 11, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.4 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.