- Date
- September 24, 1995, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Warwick, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2418RPiper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 9, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950924032089A
- Case key
- 39059
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 misjudgement of distance and speed, and his failure to perform a go-around while there was still sufficient runway remaining.
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 a solo cross-country flight, during which he operated in and out of several airports. He arrived at Warwick Municipal, the fifth airport, and performed a landing on runway 3R. The pilot reported that during the landing roll, the brakes were ineffective, and he steered off the right side of the runway to stop. Postaccident examination by an FAA Inspector revealed skid marks that started about 2/3 of the way down the 2150 foot long, 35 foot wide runway and continued off the right side. The FAA Inspector's report stated, 'Pilot landed long...and could not stop. Shut engine down and swerved off to the right side of the runway, left wing struck tree.' Postaccident examination by a mechanic revealed no preimpact anomalies with the brake system.
Factual narrative
On September 24, 1995, about 1300 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180, N2418R, was substantially damaged when it impacted a tree during the landing roll, at the Warwick Municipal Airport, Warwick, New York. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the instructional cross country flight that departed Montgomery, New York. A visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
During a telephone interview, the student pilot stated that this was the fifth airport he was operating at that day. He performed an approach and landing to runway 3R at Warwick. During the landing roll, the brakes were ineffective, and he tried to stop the airplane by steering off the right side of the runway.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, skid marks were observed approximately 2/3 down the 2150 foot long, 35 foot wide runway. The skid marks continued down and off the right side of the runway. The FAA Inspector's report stated, "Pilot landed long...and could not stop. [Pilot] shut engine down and swerved off to the right side of the runway, left wing struck tree."
Postaccident examination by a mechanic revealed no preimpact anomalies with the brake system, and the airplane was then ferried to Middletown, New York. During the ferry flight, the brakes were functional.
Additionally, the pilot reportedly had approximately 100 hours of total flight experience, of which 50 hours were solo.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2418R
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-5617
- Airframe hours
- 4,650
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Theodore Leb
- Registered owner
- Michael Leb
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 16, 1995 · 61 hours before
- Departed
- MGJ · Montgomery, NY
- Destination
- N72
- Airport
- N72 · Warwick Municipal, runway 3R, 2,150 × 35 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
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 80 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SWF, 14 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.