Piper PA-28-151 N777EX

Summary

On 25 July 2015 at about 16:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-151 registered N777EX, operated by Verespy Stephen J JR, was involved in an accident near Perkasie, Pennsylvania, 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

25 July 2015 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Perkasie, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Pennridge Airport (CKZ)

Coordinates

40.3892, -75.2906

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-151

Registration

N777EX

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

1

Operator

Verespy Stephen J JR

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mount Holly → Doylestown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15LA285

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to use the mixture control to override a throttle anomaly and reduce engine power, which resulted in excessive airspeed upon landing and a subsequent runway overrun. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inability to reduce the engine power via the throttle control for reasons that could not be determined because a postaccident examination and test run of the engine revealed no anomalies.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, while on approach to land after a short cross-country flight, he was unable to adequately slow the airplane because he could not reduce the engine power below 2,000 rpm by manipulating the throttle control. The pilot unsuccessfully attempted to land the airplane five times and conducted a go-around after each attempt. During the sixth attempted landing, the airplane touched down, but the pilot was unable to stop the airplane, and it overran the runway. When asked why he did not reduce the mixture control to slow the airplane, the pilot reported that he was concerned that the engine would lose all power. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the throttle linkage and carburetor were intact, and no anomalies were noted. During a subsequent engine test run, the engine started on the first attempt and ran continuously. The engine was run to 2,000 rpm, and a successful magneto check was performed. The engine was then run to full power (2,300 rpm), followed by a power reduction to idle without any anomalies noted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.