Piper PA-31T1 N701PT

Summary

On 25 June 2009 at about 17:45 local time, a Piper PA-31T1 registered N701PT, operated by Natoli Engineering Company, Inc., was involved in an accident near St. Louis, Missouri, 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

25 June 2009 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Creve Coeur Airport (1H0)

Coordinates

38.7267, -90.5083

Aircraft

Piper PA-31T1

Registration

N701PT

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Natoli Engineering Company, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St. Loius → St. Louis

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09LA389

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to establish and maintain a stabilized final approach which resulted in a hard landing and runway overrun.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that his final approach was high and fast, and that the airplane touched down with excessive speed about halfway down the runway. Witness accounts also indicated that the airplane initially touched down about halfway down the runway at a higher than normal landing speed. One witness noted that the airplane bounced after the initial touchdown, during which the landing gear collapsed aft. The airplane then touched down a second time with about 250 feet of runway remaining. The airplane then proceeded to overrun the departure end of the runway, go down an embankment and into a cornfield. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage primary structure. A post-accident inspection of the airplane confirmed that the landing gear was fully extended, but displaced aft due to impact forces. Flight control continuity was established from the individual flight control surfaces to their respective cockpit controls. Mechanical continuity was also confirmed from the cockpit power levers and propeller controls to their respective components. No pre-impact anomalies were identified that would have precluded the normal operation of the airplane. The airplane’s pilot operating handbook indicated that the required landing distance on a level hard-surfaced runway, without a headwind and without propeller reversing capability, was about 1,400 feet. The required landing distance with propeller reversing capability was about 825 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.