- Date
- May 2, 1994, 13:38 local (17:38 UTC)
- Place
- Danbury, CT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8454NPiper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 14, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940502010469A
- Case key
- 38748
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 inadequate compensattion for wind conditions. The crosswind was a factor.
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 was conducting touch and go landings. On his fourth landing on runway 35, he stated: '...wind shifted, touched down on the numbers on runway centerline. Applied aileron into wind. Left wing lifted up. [The airplane] drifted off the right side [of the] runway [and] struck...[a] sign, which sheared off the right landing gear.' The pilot reported that the wind was from 290 degrees at 12 knots.
Factual narrative
On Monday, May 2, 1994, at 1338 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180, N8453N, piloted by William B. MacDonald, sustained substantial damage during a landing at the Danbury Municipal Airport, Danbury, Connecticut. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The student pilot was conducting touch and go landings. In his report, the pilot stated:
[On the] fourth landing the wind shifted. Touched down at numbers on runway centerline. [I] applied aileron into wind. [The] left wing lifted up [and the airplane] drifted off the right side [of the] runway [and] struck a taxiway sign which sheared off [the] right landing gear....
The pilot reported that the winds were from 290 degrees at 12 knots. He landed on runway 35, which was 3135 feet long and 150 feet wide. At the time of the accident, the pilot had a total of 70 hours flight time.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8454N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-8290051
- Airframe hours
- 2,815
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Aerobluff, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 14, 1993 · 26 hours before
- Airport
- DXR · Danbury Municipal, runway 35, 3,135 × 150 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
- 38
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 70 total · 9 in this make and model · 6 as pilot in command · 11 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.