# NTSB LAX06CA038: Piper PA-28RT-201, N2863X, Bakersfield, CA, November 17, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: November 17, 2005, 12:10 local (20:10 UTC) - Place: Bakersfield, CA - Coordinates: 35.433612, -119.056945 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.4336&lon=-119.0569&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 28, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 62846 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX06CA038 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62846/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06CA038 ## Probable cause the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an accelerated stall and hard landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, approach - vfr pattern - base leg/base to final - airspeed - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - stall - inadvertent, pilot in command - Hard landing, descent - uncontrolled - terrain condition - runway ## Analysis The airplane landed hard on the displaced threshold of the runway while maneuvering on short final approach to properly align with the runway. The pilot reported that she had to make a slight s-turn to final approach to correct for overshooting the runway centerline. As she flared, the airplane would not respond to control input and impacted the displaced threshold hard and skidded to rest on the right side of and short of the runway. Air traffic controllers asked the pilot to make a short final for traffic considerations and she accepted the request. They observed the airplane overshoot the runway centerline and enter a steep bank in an effort to realign with final approach. The airplane descended rapidly and impacted the ground. Post-accident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector, and a local mechanic, revealed no preimpact anomalies with the airplane that would have prevented its normal operation. The airplane sustained structural damage to both wings and the fuselage. The landing gear were sheared from the airplane. ## Factual narrative On November 17, 2005, at 1210 Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-28RT-201 airplane, N2863X, stalled while on short final and made a hard landing on runway 30R at the Meadows Field Airport, Bakersfield, California. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The pilot operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The flight departed Porterville, California, at 1145, and was destined for Bakersfield. According to the pilot's statement, she was asked to report right downwind for runway 30R after arriving at Meadows Field. The air traffic controller asked if she could make a short final approach due to traffic. She accepted the request for the short final. She reported the airplane was at 120 knots on downwind, 110 knots on base, and 75-80 knots on final. She added that she had to make a "slight s-turn" to final approach to correct for overshooting the runway centerline. As she entered the landing flare, she noted "something was wrong" with the airplane, as it did not respond properly to pitch input. The airplane touched down hard with a very high sink rate in a nose level pitch attitude. Air traffic controllers reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who responded to the accident site, that the pilot was asked to make a short approach for traffic considerations. The pilot accepted the request and turned onto the base leg abeam taxiway Charlie (about 2,400 feet down the paved surface, which was a displaced threshold). The controllers observed the airplane overshoot the final approach and then entered a steep bank to return to the runway centerline. The airplane then lost altitude and impacted the ground to the left of the runway centerline. The landing gear collapsed on impact, the airplane bounced once and skidded to stop to the right side of the runway near taxiway Delta (about 3,600 feet down the paved surface, still on the displaced portion of the runway). Post-accident examination of the airplane by an FAA airworthiness inspector and a local mechanic revealed no preimpact anomalies with the airplane that would have prevented its normal operation. The airplane sustained structural damage to both wings and the fuselage. The landing gear were sheared from the airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2863X](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2863X-2012-10-11), registration cancelled 2012-10-11, S/N 28R-7918181 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-28RT-201 - Registry model: [Piper PA-28RT-201](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28rt-201) (registry code 7102818) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 28R7918181 - Airframe hours: 2504.1 - Engines: Lycoming IO-360-C1C6 200 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Maxine Turner - Registered owner: Ted N Turner Trust - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 1, 2005, 22.8 hours before - Departed: PTV, Porterville, CA - Destination: BFL, Bakersfield, CA - Airport: BFL, Meadows Field, runway 30R, 10,857 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 74; injuries: none; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review October 1, 2005; seat: left; flight hours: 3,669 total, 400 in this make and model, 3,631 as pilot in command, 40 in the last 90 days, 12 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 5 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 66 °F, dew point 41 °F - Altimeter: 30.17 inHg - Observed at: BFL ## 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 20051117027249A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20051117027249A), Nov 17, 2005: Piper PA28RT201, Bakersfield, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) The pilot had been declared for a short approach while on downwind to runway 30R and flew through the extended centerline of the runway while on right… 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.