- Date
- September 13, 1997, 09:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- Tucson, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N56474Piper PA-28-140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970913038039A
- Case key
- 29906
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 student pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane and proper alignment with the runway during landing.
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 student pilot, who was on her first supervised solo, was attempting to line up for landing on runway 11R. The wind was from 190 degrees at 7 knots. The student said the airplane was lined up too far to the left side of the runway, and the left main landing gear went off the pavement following touchdown. The airplane subsequently struck a taxiway sign. The pilot had a total of 21 hours to total flight experience, all in the accident aircraft.
Factual narrative
On September 13, 1997, at 0945 hours mountain standard time, a Piper PA-28-140, N56474, collided with a taxiway sign following an on ground loss of control while landing at Tucson, Arizona. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, and the student pilot was not injured. The aircraft was owned and operated by a co-owner of the aircraft. The instructional flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated in Tucson at 0925.
This was the first solo flight for the student pilot. The Safety Board was notified of the substantial damage and the accident status on September 19, 1997. The accident had originally been classified as an incident.
The student pilot stated in her written report that the "landing was lined up too far to the left side of the runway." The left main gear went off the runway and the aircraft struck a taxiway sign, continued across the taxiway, and came to rest beyond the taxiway A11. The pilot reported a total of 21 hours of flight time in this particular aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N56474
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7425005
- Airframe hours
- 5,417
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E3D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Deborah Sampson
- Registered owner
- David & Deborah Sampson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 17, 1997 · 82 hours before
- Departed
- TUS
- Airport
- TUS · Tucson International, runway 11R, 9,117 × 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
- 33
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 21 total · 21 in this make and model · 21 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TUS
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.