Piper PA-34-200T N47744

Summary

On 29 January 1998 at about 11:55 local time, a Piper PA-34-200T registered N47744 was involved in an accident near Chinle, Arizona, 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.

Date

29 January 1998 at 11:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Chinle, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Chinle (Q32)

Coordinates

36.2304, -109.5692

Aircraft

Piper PA-34-200T

Registration

N47744

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Flagstaff → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX98LA082

Nobody was injured.

the airport personnel's failure to provide an adequate perimeter barrier to prevent animals from entering the runway area. A factor in the accident was the dark night lighting conditions which hindered the pilot's ability to detect animals on the runway during the overflight and prior to touchdown.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The night was dark with no moon. The pilot reported that because animals often entered into the airport boundary fence through a gate meant for people, he first overflew the airport at 500' agl to verify that the runway was clear. He reported that both the runway lights and aircraft landing lights were on. On the landing roll, the pilot made a correction to the left to avoid hitting a horse that was in front and to the right of him. As he straightened the airplane, a second horse appeared approximately 50 feet straight ahead of him. He reported that he 'didn't have time to react and we hit the horse with the left wing just left of the engine at about 70 knots.' After the impact, the airplane deflected left and headed towards the fence surrounding the airport. The pilot stated that he pressed right rudder and brake in order to avoid going through the fence and the plane entered into a left skid. The left main landing gear collapsed and the left propeller impacted the ground several times before the airplane came to a stop.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.