- Date
- October 26, 1993, 12:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Somerset, PA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6566JPiper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19931026040809A
- Case key
- 38708
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
was the failure of the pilot to adequately compensate for wind conditions, and maintain directional control. A factor related to the accident were the gusting crosswinds.
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 reported that during the landing roll on runway 24, he encountered a gust of wind; the airplane lifted, descended, and touched down off the right side of the runway. The nose gear collapsed, the airplane nosed over and it came to rest inverted. The pilot reported the wind were gusting to 22 knots.
Factual narrative
On Monday, October 26, 1993, at 1200 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180, N6566J, owned and piloted by Mr. David W. Sadler, of Stahlstown, Pennsylvania, nosed over while landing at Somerset Municipal Airport, Somerset, Pennsylvania. The airplane received substantial damage and the pilot received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for flight operating under 14 CFR 91.
According to NTSB form 6120.1/2. The Pilot stated:
...When I reported final for [runway] 24 Somerset, I received an airport advisory,...the winds were 15kts gusting to 22kts at 180 [degrees]. I approached the runway in a sideslip and touched down near the 1000 foot marker. As I was in the rollout, A gust of wind picked the nose of the airplane up, then the entire airplane went airborne...I was well below my stall speed and unable to regain airspeed for sustained flight....
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors report stated, "...when it [the aircraft] came back down, the aircraft was off the right side of the runway. Upon impact, the nose gear broke, the propeller struck the ground along with the right wing tip. In approximately 30 feet the nose of the aircraft struck the ground causing the aircraft to tip over on it's back...."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6566J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-5018
- Airframe hours
- 2,947
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- David W. Sadler
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 2, 1993 · 25 hours before
- Departed
- AOO · Altoona, PA
- Airport
- 2G9 · Somerset, runway 24, 4,700 × 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
- 60
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 134 total · 126 in this make and model · 93 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 15 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.