Piper PA-28-180 N7769W

Summary

On 1 January 2007 at about 02:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N7769W, operated by Hinkle Aviation, was involved in an accident near Jackpot, Nevada, United States. 4 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

1 January 2007 at 02:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Jackpot, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Jackpot (06U)

Coordinates

41.9761, -114.6581

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N7769W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Hinkle Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Caldwell → Jackpot

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

LAX07CA070

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain directional control after encountering loose snow conditions on the runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane veered off the runway during landing and collapsed the nose gear after encountering terrain. The pilot received flight following from ARTCC and the pilot inquired if there were any NOTAMS (Notice to Airmen) for his destination, and they said that there were none. On final as he approached the ground, he noticed that only half or less of the runway pavement was showing. The rest looked like it had a cover of thin packed snow; he said that it was hard to judge if it was loose or packed, and how deep it was. He landed on the visible pavement, which was about 20 to 25 feet wide, and applied the brakes lightly. The airplane pulled to the right, and he countered with left rudder. The right main gear entered the snow, and the airplane veered sharply right and off the runway. The airplane encountered terrain, the nose wheel sheared off, and the cabin buckled aft of the firewall. The snow was found to be loosely packed, and about 6 inches deep. The pilot had landed on packed snow and ice on previous occasions without difficulty, but never on loose snow that thick. He stated that if there had been a NOTAM or UNICOM operator on duty to advise him of the runway conditions, he would have returned home.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.