- Date
- September 4, 2007, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- William-Sodus, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N444CFPiper PA28-161
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 31, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20070904829749A
- Case key
- 66583
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 improper flare at touchdown, which resulted in a hard 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 pilot of the Piper PA28-161 landed "long" to avoid "swirling winds" around the trees at the approach end of runway 10. After touchdown, he applied back-pressure on the yoke to "keep the nose wheel light," when the nose of the airplane suddenly pitched up. The nose then dropped on the runway and collapsed the nose landing gear, which substantially damaged the airplane. The winds reported at Greater Rochester International Airport, 26 miles west, were from 360 degrees at 7 knots. The pilot reported no deficiencies with the handling and performance of the airplane.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the Piper PA28-161 stated that he landed "long" to avoid "swirling winds" around the trees at the approach end of runway 10. After touchdown, he applied back-pressure on the yoke to "keep the nose wheel light," when the nose of the airplane suddenly pitched up. The nose then dropped on the runway and collapsed the nose landing gear, which substantially damaged the airplane. The winds reported about 26 miles west, were from 360 degrees at 7 knots. The pilot reported that there were no deficiencies with the handling and performance of the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N444CF
- Reported as
- Piper PA28-161
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7816035
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Williamson Flying Club Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KSDC · William-Sodus, NY
- Destination
- KSDC · William-Sodus, NY
- Airport
- KSDC · Williamson-Sodus, runway 10
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
- 69
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 1,400 total · 100 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.