Piper PA-28 N82891

Summary

On 12 March 2009 at about 01:45 local time, a Piper PA-28 registered N82891, operated by Skyline Aviation, was involved in an accident near Darlington, South Carolina, 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

12 March 2009 at 01:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Darlington, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Branhams Airport (6J7)

Coordinates

34.2789, -79.9264

Aircraft

Piper PA-28

Registration

N82891

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Skyline Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Darlington → Darlington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

ERA09CA196

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll. Contributing to the accident were the dark night and the pilot's lack of experience.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The recently certificated pilot was returning to the airport after a local flight under dark night visual meteorological conditions. To avoid hitting trees, the pilot flew a higher-than-normal final approach to Runway 34, a 3,200-foot-long turf runway with lighting. The pilot landed beyond the normal touchdown zone, and then firmly applied the brakes. The left tire "locked up" and the airplane departed the left side of the runway, where it impacted a tree-lined ditch. The airplane received substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the pilot report any. The reported wind at a nearby airport, about the time of the accident, was from 250 degrees at 5 knots. The pilot reported 83.6 hours of total flight experience, of which 15.1 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane and 4.4 hours were at night.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.