Piper PA-28R-200 N4977S

Summary

On 2 June 2007 at about 20:30 local time, a Piper PA-28R-200 registered N4977S was involved in an accident near Rockport, Texas, 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

2 June 2007 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Rockport, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Aransas County Airport (RKP)

Coordinates

28.0869, -97.0444

Aircraft

Piper PA-28R-200

Registration

N4977S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

New Braunfels → Rockport

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW07LA158

Nobody was injured.

The pilots improper landing flare which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing factors were the pilot's delayed actions to abort a wheels-up landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 196-hour private pilot stated that upon touchdown the airplane felt "spongy or squirrelly" and a propeller strike occurred. The pilot added that after touchdown, he pulled back on the controls to raise the nose of the airplane. When the airplane settled back on the runway, it immediately "pulled to the right," and the right wing struck and came to rest on the runway. Examination of the airframe revealed an approximately a one-foot square hole on the upper wing skin of the right wing with the support structure of the right landing gear protruding-up and through the wing skin. An inspection of the wing did not find any rust/corrosion on the landing gear strut or surrounding structure and there was no evidence of premature failure of the landing gear strut attachment points. The left main and nose landing gear were in the down and locked position. A check of the runway found propeller strike marks 1,000 feet from the approach end of the runway and about 6 inches to the right of the runway centerline. In the area of the propeller marks, portions of the propeller seals and rings were found. No other scrapes or marks were found in this area, relating to the airplane. About 1,000 feet further down the runway, on the right side and prior to the right wingtip scar, was a landing gear tire scuffmark. Photographs taken of the airplane reveal that, with the left main and nose wheel landing gear extended, it is not possible for the airplane's 3-blade propeller to make contact with the ground. The investigation determined that the landing gear was in the retracted position when the propeller strikes occurred, and the landing gear was extended when the pilot raised the nose. The right main landing gear strut was pushed through the top of the wing during the subsequent hard landing. The airport manager reported that the runway's surface was totally resurfaced less than 3 months prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.