- Date
- May 6, 1995, 08:50 local (12:50 UTC)
- Place
- Old Bridge, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8097FPiper PA-28-161
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 26, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950506009819I
- Case key
- 38956
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 misjudged the landing flare and improperly recovered from a bounced 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
According to the pilot's statement, while landing on runway 24, '...[the airplane] touched down just past [the] numbers...bounced and floated.' The airplane 'immediately shifted to the left of the runway [and it was] obvious [the] plane was leaving the runway.' The airplane departed the left side of the runway, struck small trees, some brush, and came to a stop in a ditch. The reported winds were from 280 deg at 8 KTS, gusts to 10 KTS.
Factual narrative
On May 6, 1995, about 0850 eastern daylight time, a Piper, PA-28-161, N8097F, collided with the terrain during a landing at Old Bridge Airport, Old Bridge, New Jersey. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The local personal flight departed at 0840, and was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot's statement on the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, after landing on runway 24 (the runway was 3,600 feet long and 50 feet wide), "...[the airplane] touched down just past [the] numbers...bounced and floated." The pilot wrote that the airplane "immediately shifted to the left of the runway [and it was] obvious [the] plane was leaving the runway." The airplane departed the left side of the runway, struck small trees, some brush, and came to a stop in a ditch.
The FAA examined the wreckage at the accident site on May 6, 1995, and found the left main landing gear scissors had broken, "causing the wheel to drag which appeared to force the aircraft to continue traveling to the left before impact." The FAA found damage to both wings, the nose and left landing gear. The engine was torn loose from the mounts, and the propeller was curled. The left fuel tank had fuel and the right fuel tank was ruptured, resulting in the fuel draining from the tank. All the electrical and fuel systems were secured by airport personnel prior to the FAA's arrival.
According to the pilot, the winds at the time of the accident were from 280 degrees at 8 knots, gusts to 10 knots.
At the time of the accident, the pilot's total flight time was 146.6 hours, of which 6.6 hours were in this make and model airplane. The pilot wrote on the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, that he had 1.9 hours as pilot-in-command in this make and model airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8097F
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-161
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 8016091
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 lbs thrust, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- O'Brien Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 3N6
- Airport
- 3N6 · Old Bridge, runway 24, 3,600 × 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
- 53
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 147 total · 7 in this make and model · 61 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 8 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.