- Date
- December 5, 1992, 12:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Auburn, CA
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8339XPiper PA-32-301T
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 14, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921205049409A
- Case key
- 27883
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain direction control during the landing touchdown. Contributing to the accident inadequate maintenance of the runway safety area by airport personnel.
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
While landing in a right crosswind the plane touched down first on the right main gear and then the left main gear. As the pilot lowered the nose gear the airplane veered to the left and exited the runway. The airplane crossed a ditch and came to rest about 75 feet left of centerline. The pilot recently purchased the airplane and had accumulated a total of 5.2 flight hours in the same make and model all within the previous 30 days. The pilot indicated that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions. The ditch was located in the runway safety area. The runway safety area is 300 feet wide centered on the runway and is supposed to accommodate the occasional passage of an airplane without causing substantial damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8339X
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-301T
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32 8124012
- Airframe hours
- 1,047
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-S1AD, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Barber, David D.
- Registered owner
- Barber, David D.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 18, 1992 · 20 hours before
- Airport
- AUN · Auburn, runway 7, 3,100 × 60 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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 139 total · 5 in this make and model · 74 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MHR, 30 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.