# NTSB LAX98LA019: Piper PA-24-250, N8203P, Fullerton, CA, October 23, 1997 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 23, 1997, 13:26 local (20:26 UTC) - Place: Fullerton, CA - Location: 33.8720° N, 117.9798° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at FULLERTON MUNI (FUL), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.8720&lon=-117.9798&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 21, 1998 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 29983 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX98LA019 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/29983/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98LA019 ## Probable cause the pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during landing roll, which resulted in an inadvertent ground swerve and subsequent damage to the airplane. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - weather condition - crosswind (contributing factor) - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - ground loop/swerve - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll ## Analysis The pilot reported that the landing was routine through landing touchdown. There was a quartering left crosswind at 12 knots. During rollout, the aircraft veered to the left, and the pilot was unable to keep the aircraft on the runway despite input of right rudder and brake control. Tire skid marks on the runway, made by the nose wheel and right main tires of the aircraft, started about 1,000 feet from the landing threshold. Approximately 500 feet further along the runway, the left main tire mark became visible as the marks angled toward the left edge of the runway. The marks from the right and left main gear converged at the left edge of the runway approximately 200 feet further along the runway. ## Factual narrative On October 23, 1997, at 1326 hours Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-24-250, N8203P, veered off runway 24 during landing at Fullerton Municipal Airport, Fullerton, California. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight which originated in Albuquerque, New Mexico, about 1000 MDT. The pilot told the Safety Board that the flight was routine through landing touchdown. During rollout, the aircraft veered to the left and he was unable to keep the aircraft on the runway despite input of right rudder and brake control. On his report to the airport operations office, prepared on the day of the accident, the pilot described the incident as "loss control on roll out - felt gear or brake problem." According to an inspector from the FAA's Long Beach Flight Standards District Office, tire skid marks on runway 24 made by the nose wheel and right main tires of the aircraft started about 1,000 feet from the landing threshold. Approximately 500 feet further along the runway, the left main tire mark became visible as the marks angled toward the left edge of the runway. The marks from the right and left main gear converged at the left edge of the runway approximately 200 feet further along the runway. Witnesses reported to the inspector that the aircraft came to rest approximately 25 feet into the grass area to the left of the runway, heading southeast. There was a quartering left crosswind at 12 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8203P](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8203P), registered now, S/N 24-3455, built 1963 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-24-250 - Registry model: [Piper PA-24-250](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-250) (registry code 7102404) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (registry code 41532, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 24-3455 - Airframe hours: 3496 - Engines: Lycoming O-540-A1D5 250 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Milford V. Smith - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, May 1, 1997, 40 hours before - Departed: ABQ, ALBUQUERQUE, NM - Destination: FUL - Airport: FUL, Fullerton Municipal, runway 24, 3,121 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 55; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 314 total, 90 in this make and model, 237 as pilot in command, 29 in the last 90 days, 24 in the last 30 days, 12 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 12 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 4,000 ft broken - Temperature: 72 °F, dew point 57 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: FUL ## 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 19971023030869A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971023030869A), Oct 23, 1997: Piper PA24250, Fullerton, CA, Substantial damage. Veered left off runway inspite control inputs due to left quartering tailwind of 12 knots. ## Other investigations on N8203P (1) 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. - [NTSB FTW65D0034](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW65D0034), Apr 3, 1965: Piper PA-24 (N8203P), Fort Worth, TX, substantial damage 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.