Piper PA-28-180 N5658W

Summary

On 19 January 2011 at about 23:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N5658W was involved in an accident near Pekin, Illinois, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 January 2011 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Pekin, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Pekin Municipal Airport (C15)

Coordinates

40.4883, -89.6758

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N5658W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pekin → Pekin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11CA176

1 person was seriously injured.

The student pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the landing approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot said that he was a performing takeoffs and landings on his first solo flight when the accident occurred. He stated that he had made two or three uneventful landings prior to the accident. He said that, while floating down the runway, he was holding the airplane off the ground waiting for it to settle. He said that he did not pay sufficient attention to the airplane’s airspeed and it stalled about 10 to 15 feet above the runway. The airplane's nose dropped and the airplane impacted the ground nose first and skidded to a stop. He stated that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, including buckling of the fuselage and bending of both wing spars.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.