Piper PA-28R-200 N5033S

Summary

On 12 January 2015 at about 20:45 local time, a Piper PA-28R-200 registered N5033S, operated by Skyline Solutions Inc, was involved in an accident near Deland, 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

12 January 2015 at 20:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Deland, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Deland Taylor Airport (DED)

Coordinates

29.0669, -81.2836

Aircraft

Piper PA-28R-200

Registration

N5033S

Category

Airplane

Year built

1970

Engines

1

Operator

Skyline Solutions Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

New Smyrna → Deland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15CA116

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight weather planning and decision to land in an area with known convective wind gusts, which resulted in a loss of control and subsequent hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he had decided to return to his originating airport after having been advised by air traffic control of an inbound thunderstorm during a local flight. The pilot obtained an instrument flight rules clearance and headed towards the airport, which was in the direction of the storm. During the first landing attempt on runway 30, the pilot noted strong wind gusts and "extreme precipitation," but elected to continue the landing. About 30 feet above the runway, a "strong windshear" forced the airplane onto the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. The airplane subsequently lifted off the ground again and the pilot initiated a go-around. The pilot circled the runway and aborted three more attempts before he successfully landed the airplane. He reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that could have precluded normal operation. The pilot stated that he had obtained some weather information prior to his departure, but was not aware of the thunderstorm. A review of weather radar revealed the presence of strong winds and heavy precipitation over the pilot's originating airport at the time of the accident. Winds reported at the accident site about 10 minutes after the accident were from 320 degrees at 16 knots, gusting to 27 knots. There were also area forecasts for convective activity and Convective Sigmets that had been issued for the pilot's route of flight about one hour and thirty minutes prior to his departure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.