- Date
- March 28, 1998, 12:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Red Hook, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N31699Piper PA-32-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 30, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980328004489A
- Case key
- 28286
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
inadequate compensation for the crosswind by the pilot, and his failure to maintain directional control during the landing. Related factors were: the gusty crosswind condition, and high vegetation that was encountered after departing the 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 he was landing on runway 19 with winds variable from the south and west at 10 knots and wind gusts to 25 knots. During the landing, the main landing gear touched down, and before the nosewheel touched down, a strong wind gust from the southwest lifted the airplane and right wing. The pilot lost directional control, and the airplane veered off the left side of the runway onto a wet, slippery wooded area. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On March 28, 1998, at 1215 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-32-300, N31699, was substantially damaged when it veered off the left side of the runway into bushes while landing at the Sky Park Airport, Redhook, New York. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The local, personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot said that he overflew the airport at 3,000 feet MSL, and the windsock favored runway 19. He said it was windy and gusty that day, and he estimated the winds were variable from the south and west. He said at the end of the flight, the wind was shifting back and forth, and the wind gusts were stronger.
The pilot reported that during landing on runway 19, the airplane touched down on the main landing gear just beyond the numbers. Just before the nosewheel touched down, a strong wind gust from the southwest lifted the airplane, and the right wing. The airplane veered off the left side of the runway into a grassy, wooded, brushy area.
He said that he was unable to steer back onto the runway after the airplane veered off the left side of the runway due to the strong crosswind, and the wet, slippery grass.
A weather reporting station about 25 miles away, reported winds from 230 degrees at 10 knots, and 30 minutes after the accident, reported the winds from 250 degrees at 15 knots. The pilot reported over 799 hours of total flight experience, including 589 hours in make and model. He said there were wind gusts to 25 knots, and that he experienced no mechanical malfunction with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N31699
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-7840142
- Airframe hours
- 3,103
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K-1G5D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard A Anthony
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 27, 1998 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- 46N
- Airport
- 46N · Sky Park, runway 19, 2,700 × 30 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
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 799 total · 589 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- POU, 25 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.
Other investigations on N31699 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.