- Date
- September 7, 2000, 18:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Factoryville, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8704PPiper PA-24-260
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report May 17, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000907039129A
- Case key
- 50205
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 pilot's failure to attain the proper touchdown point.
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
During a practice short field landing at dusk, the airplane touched down about 1 foot short of the runway. It struck a runway threshold light, the left landing gear strut collapsed, and the airplane veered off to the left. There were no mechanical problems with the airplane, and the commercial pilot had over 9,400 hours of flight time.
Factual narrative
On September 7, 2000, about 1800 Eastern Daylight Time, a Piper PA-24-260, N8704P, was substantially damaged during a landing at Seamans Field (9N3), Factoryville, Pennsylvania. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed for the personal flight, conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot reported that he was practicing a short field landing, and "must have gotten behind the airplane." The airplane touched down about 1 foot short of the runway, broke the left landing gear, bent the right landing gear, and damaged both wings. The pilot also noted that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane.
The pilot stated that he had returned from a day trip, and made a full-stop landing at dusk. He then taxied back, took off, and flew a pattern for a practice short field landing to Runway 22. During the landing, the airplane struck a runway threshold light, the left landing gear strut collapsed, and the airplane veered off to the left.
The pilot also reported that he had over 9,400 hours of flight time.
Winds, recorded at an airport 12 nautical miles to the south, about 1/2 hour before the accident, were from 180 degrees true, at 8 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8704P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-260
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-4150
- Airframe hours
- 9,301
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Edward Kapp
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 21, 2000 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- 9N3
- Airport
- 9N3 · Seamans Field, runway 22, 2,500 × 50 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
- 62
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 9,432 total · 5,900 in this make and model · 8,710 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AVP, 12 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.
Other investigations on N8704P · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.