Aviation Crash Map

Piper PA-24-260 N8805P

21 December 1997 · Healdsburg, California, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 21 December 1997 at about 22:30 local time, a Piper PA-24-260 registered N8805P was involved in an accident near Healdsburg, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 22:30
Classification
Accident
Location
Healdsburg, California, United States
Nearest airport
Healdsburg Municipal (O31)
Coordinates
38.6297, -122.8901
Aircraft
Piper PA-24-260
Registration
N8805P
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Angwin → Unknown
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
LAX98LA062

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
2 0 0 0 2

Probable cause

the pilot's misjudged distance and altitude relationship to the runway during a short field approach, which resulted in an undershoot and a hard landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was making a short field approach and had increased his airspeed above the recommended approach speed due to blowing winds. On short final he encountered what he described as a wind shear. He applied power and increased back pressure but was unable to prevent the aircraft from landing short of the runway. The nose gear collapsed and the aircraft slid to a stop. A designated pilot examiner reported the pilot had failed his initial commercial flight test 6 days earlier, and during the test, had made a short field approach that was too high, too fast, and he had landed too long to meet standards.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Piper PA-24 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
27 Jun 1997 Piper PA-24-250
N6745P
Powell River, Canada
no coordinates
Westbo, Leonard A. JR. Serious injuries -
23 Mar 1997 Piper PA-24-250
N6561P
Bowling Green, Ohio, United States - No injuries -
14 May 1997 Piper PA-24-180
N7931P
Yakkama City, Florida, United States Arlan Elroy Nuss No injuries -
15 Feb 1997 Piper PA-24-250
N6433P
Farmington, New Mexico, United States - Fatal 5
2 Aug 1997 Piper PA-24-250
N720MB
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, United States - Minor injuries -
26 Jul 1997 Piper PA-24-180
N7014P
Arthur City, Texas, United States - No injuries -

All 2,700 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
24 Aug 1997 Airbus A300 B4-203
N862PA
Los Angeles, California, United States Pan American World Airways, In No injuries -
15 Aug 1997 Bell UH-1H
N205DF
Tahoe City, California, United States Usda / Forest Service Minor injuries -
11 Oct 1997 Cessna 152
N67293
Julian, California, United States Plus One Flyers, Inc. Fatal 1
11 Oct 1997 Schweizer 2-32
N242DB
Warner Springs, California, United States - Fatal 1
12 Oct 1997 Bellanca 7ECA
N11860
Tracy, California, United States - Fatal 1
26 Oct 1997 Extra Flugzeugbau EA-300
N69BW
Castaic, California, United States
no coordinates
- Fatal 2

All 170,864 records in United States