Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA-31T1 near St. Louis, MO — 2009-06-25

Final reportCEN09LA389
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Date
2009-06-25
Location
St. Louis, MO, USA
Airport
1H0
Aircraft
PIPER PA-31T1
Registration
N701PT
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to establish and maintain a stabilized final approach which resulted in a hard landing and runway overrun.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that his final approach was high and fast, and that the airplane touched down with excessive speed about halfway down the runway. Witness accounts also indicated that the airplane initially touched down about halfway down the runway at a higher than normal landing speed. One witness noted that the airplane bounced after the initial touchdown, during which the landing gear collapsed aft. The airplane then touched down a second time with about 250 feet of runway remaining. The airplane then proceeded to overrun the departure end of the runway, go down an embankment and into a cornfield. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage primary structure. A post-accident inspection of the airplane confirmed that the landing gear was fully extended, but displaced aft due to impact forces. Flight control continuity was established from the individual flight control surfaces to their respective cockpit controls. Mechanical continuity was also confirmed from the cockpit power levers and propeller controls to their respective components. No pre-impact anomalies were identified that would have precluded the normal operation of the airplane. The airplane’s pilot operating handbook indicated that the required landing distance on a level hard-surfaced runway, without a headwind and without propeller reversing capability, was about 1,400 feet. The required landing distance with propeller reversing capability was about 825 feet.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have chosen to land on runway 34 instead of runway 16.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 6 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents6

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