# NTSB NYC99LA195: Piper PA-34-200T, N31743, Chatham, MA, August 10, 1999 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 10, 1999, 11:00 local (15:00 UTC) - Place: Chatham, MA - Location: 41.6883° N, 69.9897° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at CHATHAM MUNI (CQX), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.6883&lon=-69.9897&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report August 10, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 47046 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=NYC99LA195 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/47046/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC99LA195 ## Probable cause The pilot's improper flare and improper recovery from a bounced landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare - improper, pilot in command (cause) - recovery from bounced landing - improper, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis The pilot made a hard landing in his light twin-engine airplane. He thought the airplane had encountered a sudden downdraft during the flare, and a witness stated that it had dropped suddenly from 3-5 feet. It landed on the main landing gear first, followed by the nose gear immediately afterwards. It then bounced twice, coming down hard on the nose gear both times, before finally staying on the ground. Winds at the time were 5 knots, 60 degrees off the nose of the airplane, and two single-engine airplanes had landed ahead of the accident airplane without difficulty. The pilot had about 230 hours of flight time, and 78 hours in the accident airplane. He had received his multi-engine rating the previous day. ## Factual narrative On August 10, 1999, about 1100 Eastern Daylight Time, a Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II, N31743, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at Chatham Municipal Airport (CQX), Chatham, Massachusetts. The certificated private pilot was uninjured, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed for the flight between Danbury Municipal Airport (DXR), Danbury, Connecticut, and Chatham. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the pilot's written statement, he was making an approach to Runway 06, and everything was normal until the flare, when "it felt like a powerful hand pushed me straight down. We were NOT in a stall. Although I can't be sure, I feel it must have been a powerful downdraft wind gust. I went down hard on the main gear, up into the air, down hard on all the gear, up again, and down onto the nose gear." A witness stated that the "weather was good, wind was light with some wind gusts. When the [landing] gear was 3-5 feet above [the] runway, [the] plane dropped suddenly, landing on two main gear first, then the nose immediately after. The plane jumped up 2-3 feet, landed on [the] nose gear hard, then main gear, then back into the air 2 to 3 feet. The plane then landed again on the nose gear hard, then main gear and stayed down." Weather at the approximate time of the accident included no ceiling, visibility 10 statute miles, and winds from 360 degrees magnetic, at 5 knots. The pilot stated that two single-engine airplanes were in the pattern ahead of him, and landed without difficulty. The pilot received his multi-engine rating the day before the accident. At the time, he had about 230 hours of total flight time, and 78 hours in the accident airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N31743](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N31743-2018-01-03), registration cancelled 2018-01-03, S/N 34-7870264, built 1978 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-34-200T - Registry model: [Piper PA-34-200T](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-34-200t) (registry code 7103406) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental TSIO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-360-series) (registry code 17019, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 34-7870264 - Airframe hours: 2509 - Engines: Continental TSIO-360 225 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: John N. Campbell - Registered owner: Campbell Assoc At Curtiss Aero - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, May 3, 1999, 26 hours before - Departed: DXR, DANBURY, CT - Destination: CQX - Airport: CQX, Chatham Municipal Airport, runway 6, 3,000 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 57; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 231 total, 78 in this make and model, 159 as pilot in command, 34 in the last 90 days, 12 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 360° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 45 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: CQX ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19990810046459A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990810046459A), Aug 10, 1999: Piper PA34200T, Chatham, MA, No damage. (-23)Certification for multi-engine dated day before incident. Pilot has enforcement history, see attachments. Narrative: see ptrs #NE01199908577 and statement… ## Other investigations on N31743 (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB ERA13FA253](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA13FA253), May 24, 2013: Piper PA-34-200T (N31743), Johnstown, NY, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's loss of control due to spatial disorientation in instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane's design stress limitations, and a subsequent… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.