- Date
- September 22, 2000, 17:06 local (Sep 23, 2000, 00:06 UTC)
- Place
- North Las Vegas, NV
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2963PPiper PA-22-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 24, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20000922013859A
- Case key
- 50339
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 inadequate compensation for the gusty and variable crosswind conditions. Factors were the variable and gusty crosswinds.
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 landing, the aircraft veered off the left side of the runway, contacted the runway edge, and collapsed the nose gear. According to the pilot, he unsuccessfully attempted to compensate for a wind gust. The recorded winds at the time of the accident included variable 30-knot gusts between 150 and 210 degrees.
Factual narrative
On September 22, 2000, at 1706 hours Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-22-150, N2963P, collapsed the nose landing gear after contacting the left runway edge while landing at the North Las Vegas, Nevada, airport. The airplane sustained substantial damage; however, neither the certificated private pilot nor the passenger were injured. The airplane was operated as a personal flight by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The flight originated from the Reno/Tahoe International Airport, Reno, Nevada, about 1406. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed.
According to the pilot's initial telephone statement, the airplane was landing on runway 25 when the pilot attempted to compensate for a gusting crosswind. The nose wheel contacted the edge of the asphalt runway and collapsed. Subsequent damage included the lower engine cowling, the propeller, and right wing which struck the ground.
The pilot received a flight review 19 days prior to the accident, and had 50 hours in the make and model. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the pilot accumulated 300 hours of total flight time. A private pilot certificate was issued in March 1991.
Winds at the time of the accident were reported to be from 180 degrees at 20 knots. Gusting winds were also reported as 150 degrees varying to 210 degrees at 30 knots.
A post accident inspection of the airplane revealed that the right wing spar was bent and two ribs were broken. The engine mount displayed several fractures. The propeller and spinner showed evidence of bending and the lower engine cowling was crushed.
The pilot did not provide a NTSB form 6120.1/2, Pilot/Operator Report of Aircraft Accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2963P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-3236
- Airframe hours
- 2,721
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert E. Mitchell, Sr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- RNO · Reno, NV
- Destination
- VGT · North Las Vegas, NV
- Airport
- VGT · North Las Vegas, runway 25, 5,004 × 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
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Last flight review
- September 3, 2000
- Flight hours
- 300 total · 50 in this make and model · 20 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 20 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.46 inHg
- Observed at
- VGT
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.