Piper PA 28-180 N7215W

Summary

On 26 August 2015 at about 17:00 local time, a Piper PA 28-180 registered N7215W, operated by Southern Media Partners LLC, was involved in an accident near DeFuniak Springs, Florida, United States. One person was 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

26 August 2015 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

DeFuniak Springs, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Defuniak Springs (54J)

Coordinates

30.7328, -86.1508

Aircraft

Piper PA 28-180

Registration

N7215W

Category

Airplane

Year built

1963

Engines

1

Operator

Southern Media Partners LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Elberton → DeFuniak Springs

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA15CA240

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll in crosswind conditions, which resulted in a runway excursion, and collision with a ditch.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during the landing roll it felt as if "air got under the wing." The airplane drifted to the left and departed the runway surface into the grass about 40 miles per hour. During the runway excursion, the pilot reported that he crossed over a parallel taxiway, the nose gear impacted a storm water ditch and collapsed. The firewall sustained substantial damage. According to the pilot, the reported wind from the airport automated surface observing system about the time of the accident was 350 degrees true at 9 knots, which resulted in a 9 knot crosswind component.     The pilot stated there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.