# NTSB LAX04CA236: Piper PA-28-181, N39678, Dunsmuir, CA, June 2, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: June 2, 2004, 13:00 local (20:00 UTC) - Place: Dunsmuir, CA - Coordinates: 41.263053, -122.271942 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.2631&lon=-122.2719&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 29, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 59431 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX04CA236 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/59431/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX04CA236 ## Probable cause the pilot's misjudgment of speed and distance, which resulted in an overrun of the runway. The pilot's failure to use flaps and his landing at an airport with a runway shorter than he expected is a contributing factor. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Overrun, landing - roll - distance/speed - misjudged, pilot in command (cause) - lowering of flaps - not performed, pilot in command (contributing factor) - landed at wrong airport - inadvertent, pilot in command (contributing factor) - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - dirt bank/rising embankment ## Analysis The pilot landed, overran the 2,700-foot runway, and impacted a berm off the departure end of the runway. The pilot was conducting a cross-country flight and mistook the accident airport for her destination airport, which is nearby and has a 5,000 foot-long runway. She landed and could not stop the airplane prior to the runway's termination. Review of the airplane's landing performance chart revealed that if the pilot landed the airplane at maximum gross weight with full flaps extended, it should have stopped at the 1,100-foot mark. The pilot landed with the flaps retracted. The pilot reported that there were no anomalies with the airplane or engine. ## Factual narrative On June 2, 2004, at 1300 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28-181, N39678, overran runway 32 and collided with a berm during landing at the Dunsmuir Municipal - Mott Airport, Dunsmuir, California. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed for the cross-country flight that originated from Novato, California, at 1120. The flight was destined for Weed, California. According to the pilot's written statement, she terminated her VFR flight plan after passing Redding's very high frequency omni-directional range (VOR) navigation system. When she cancelled her flight plan, she was informed that she was about 30 miles south of her destination airport (Weed is approximately 58 miles north-northwest of the Redding VOR). As the pilot proceeded along her route, she noticed an airport with the runway numbers 32/14, which happened to be the same runway numbers for Weed. The pilot overflew the airport, and thought that it was her planned destination airport. She landed the airplane, but could not stop the airplane prior to the departure end. The airplane departed the runway, overran a ditch, and impacted a small hill, where it came to rest. The airplane sustained structural damage to the fuselage and landing gear system. The pilot reported that there were no anomalies with the airplane and its engine prior to the accident. Review of the Klamath Falls sectional aeronautical chart revealed that Dunsmuir's airport was 15 miles southeast of Weed's airport. Dunsmuir's airport elevation is 3,258 feet mean sea level (msl), and Weed's airport elevation is 2,938 feet msl. To the north of Dunsmuir (by 9 miles), and to the east of Weed (by 12 miles), stands Mt. Shasta at 14,162 feet msl. Runway 32/14 at Dunsmuir is 2,700 feet long and 60 feet wide. Runway 32/14 at Weed is 5,000 feet long and 60 feet wide. The pilot reported that the visibility was 10+ miles and the sky was clear. Photographs taken at the accident site revealed that the flaps were in the retracted position. Review of the PA-28-181 pilot operating handbook's (POH) landing distance performance chart revealed that the airplane's landing distance (at maximum gross weight with full flaps extended, and the atmospheric conditions experienced by the pilot) should have been no more than 1,100 feet. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N39678](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N39678-2005-04-07), registration cancelled 2005-04-07, S/N 28-7990003, built 1978 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-28-181 - Registry model: [Piper PA-28-181](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-181) (registry code 7102807) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O&VO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (registry code 41514, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 28-7990003 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A414 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Barbara C. Powell - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, February 20, 2004, 10.6 hours before - Departed: DVO, Novato, CA - Destination: O46, Weed, CA - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: 1O6, Dunsmuir Municipal - Mott, runway 32, 2,700 × 60 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 66; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review April 12, 2004; seat: left; flight hours: 327 total, 327 in this make and model, 194 as pilot in command, 9 in the last 90 days, 3 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 320° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 75 °F - Altimeter: 29.87 inHg ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20040602017609A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040602017609A), Jun 2, 2004: Piper PA28181, Dunsmuir, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) During landing at the Dunsmuir airport, California, the airspeed was fast and the approach was high. The airplane landed long and departed the end of the… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.