Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA-28R-180 near Kingfisher, OK — 2010-06-06

Final reportCEN10LA303
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Date
2010-06-06
Location
Kingfisher, OK, USA
Airport
F92
Aircraft
PIPER PA-28R-180
Registration
N7559J
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate airspeed while landing, which led to an aerodynamic stall and a hard landing.

NTSB narrative

The pilot said that this was his second landing on the grass strip that day. The winds were gusty and there was a slight crosswind. He turned onto final approach at 80 knots indicated airspeed with the landing gear down and flaps fully extended. He descended to the round out (flare), but the airplane "floated." He lowered the nose to allow the airplane to settle and he heard the stall warning horn intermittently. He applied full throttle and the engine responded but the airplane continued to descend. The airplane landed "hard." The left wing struck the ground, the airplane bounced, and then the right wing struck the ground. The nose gear collapsed and the airplane skidded to a stop. The pilot said that he didn't take into consideration the density altitude and that if he had maintained a higher landing speed the airplane would not have stalled. An examination of the airplane revealed no preexisting anomalies.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot did not consider density altitude before landing approach.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

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