- Date
- December 19, 2024, 16:20 local (Dec 20, 2024, 00:20 UTC)
- Place
- Placerville, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N29247Piper PA-28RT-201T
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing area undershoot
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20241219018519A
- Case key
- 199455
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’s failure to maintain an adequate descent rate during the landing approach, which resulted in an impact with terrain short of the runway threshold.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that while on approach for landing, the visual approach slope indicator showed that he was above the glide slope. He deployed flaps to descend and re-intercept the glide slope. After the pilot noticed that he was a little low he added power to arrest the descent rate. However, the landing gear impacted a berm about 90 feet from the runway approach threshold, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings. The pilot reported that the airplane had no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N29247
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28RT-201T
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-7931195
- Built
- 1979
- Airframe hours
- 4,380
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-360, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sargeant Michael C
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 2, 2024 · 8 hours before
- Airport
- PVF · Placerville, runway 05/23, 3,914 × 76 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Handheld GPS
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
- 70
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 25, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,505 total · 29 in this make and model · 1,317 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.16 inHg
- Icing
- Unknown
- Turbulence
- Unknown
- Observed at
- KPVF
- METAR
- KPVF 200015Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 17/M03 A3016 RMK AO1
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 22, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.7 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.