- Date
- November 19, 1997, 11:22 local (16:22 UTC)
- Place
- Mount Holly, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5189WPiper PA-28-160
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 28, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19971119033679A
- Case key
- 39503
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 failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll.
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 performing solo takeoffs and landings to Runway 26. During the third landing, the airplane veered off to the left of the runway and struck a pole and wind indicator. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. The winds at a nearby airport were reported to be from 240 degrees at 4 knots. The student pilot had 32 hours of total flight experience, 15 hours were in make and model.
Factual narrative
On November 19, 1997, at 1122 Eastern Standard Time, a Piper PA-28-160, N5189W, was substantially damaged when it collided with a pole and wind indicator during the landing roll at the South Jersey Regional Airport (VAY), Mount Holly, New Jersey. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight. No flight plan was filed for the instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
This was a student pilot supervised solo, and he was conducting the landings to Runway 26, a 3,911 foot long, 50 foot wide, asphalt runway. The student pilot reported that his first two landings were normal. During the third landing, "...I was on roll-out when the plane suddenly swerved off to the left, I panicked and just hung on until I hit a pole..."
Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions with the airplane, nor did the student pilot report any.
The winds at a nearby airport were reported to from 240 degrees at 4 knots. The student pilot had 32 hours of total flight experience, 15 hours were in make and model.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5189W
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-160
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-224
- Airframe hours
- 3,390
- Engine
- Lycoming O320 B2B, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Raymond Leonardo
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 2, 1997 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- VAY
- Airport
- VAY · South Jersey Regional, runway 26, 3,911 × 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
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 32 total · 15 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PHL, 20 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.