Piper PA-28-180 N1352T

Summary

On 29 January 2012 at about 17:42 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N1352T was involved in an accident near Thomasville, Pennsylvania, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 January 2012 at 17:42

Classification

Accident

Location

Thomasville, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

York (THV)

Coordinates

39.9253, -76.8764

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N1352T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fredrick → Thomasville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12FA163

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during an approach in gusty crosswind conditions, which resulted in an inadvertent aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was conducting a cross-country flight and landed at his destination airport, on runway 17 without incident. He taxied back to the beginning of the runway, took off, and entered a left traffic pattern for another approach to the same runway. The airplane was on final approach when it stalled and descended toward the ground. The airplane's left wing initially impacted the ground, followed by the nose. The airplane came to rest in a corn field about 1/4-mile from the approach end, and about 400 feet to the left of the extended runway centerline. Examination of the accident airplane’s global positioning system data revealed that the flight track data for the accident flight was similar to the flight track during the previous landing; however, the ground speeds during the final approach phase of the accident flight were significantly slower than during the previous landing. The airplane’s last recorded ground speed was 45 knots. According to the airplane’s performance charts, its stall speed for the landing configuration would have been 53 knots. Postaccident examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The wind reported at the airport about the time accident was from 230 degrees at 13 knots, gusting to 20 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.