- Date
- December 21, 2003, 17:40 local (22:40 UTC)
- Place
- Louisville, KY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7532YPiper PA-30
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 1, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Louisville FSDO
- FAA report
- 20031221036659A
- Case key
- 58580
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, which resulted a hard landing. A factor was the glare from the setting sun.
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 airplane landed hard, and the landing gear collapsed. The airplane then skidded off the runway and collided with a taxiway sign and runway lights. The pilot subsequently reported that during the landing, about 10 feet above the ground, glare from the setting sun resulted in the loss of all attitude references, including the runway, horizon, and instrument panel. U.S. Naval Observatory data revealed that at the time of the accident, the sun was 3.2 degrees below the horizon, and 2.4 degrees to the right of runway centerline.
Factual narrative
On December 21, 2003, at 1740 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-30, N7532Y , was substantially damaged while landing at Bowman Field (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the airplane was not operating on a flight plan. The personal flight, which departed Athens/Ben Epps Airport (AHN), Athens, Georgia, was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot reported that during the landing on runway 24, about 10 feet above the ground, glare from the setting sun resulted in a "total loss of all references - runway, horizon, instrument panel, everything."
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the airplane subsequently landed hard, and the landing gear collapsed. The airplane skidded off the runway, collided with a taxiway sign and several runway lights, and came to rest in a grassy area.
U.S. Naval Observatory data revealed that, at 1740, the altitude of the sun was -3.2 degrees and the azimuth was 242.4 degrees true.
The direction of runway 24 at Louisville was 242 degrees magnetic, 240 degrees true.
The weather reported at Louisville, at 1729, included winds from 220 degrees true at 8 knots, 10 miles visibility, clear skies below 12,000 feet, temperature 46 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 21 degrees Fahrenheit, and a barometric pressure of 30.15 inches of mercury.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7532Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-30
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30-570
- Airframe hours
- 5,782
- Engines
- Lycoming IO-320-B1A, 160 horsepower, reciprocatingLycoming IO-320-B1A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- AHN · Athens, GA
- Destination
- LOU · Louisville, KY
- Airport
- LOU · Bowman Field, runway 24
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
- 68
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 3,996 total · 1,730 in this make and model · 35 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.14 inHg
- Observed at
- LOU
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.