Piper PA-32-301 N42993

Summary

On 2 February 2015 at about 18:00 local time, a Piper PA-32-301 registered N42993, operated by BC Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Valdosta, Georgia, United States. 4 people were 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

2 February 2015 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Valdosta, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Valdosta Regional (VLD)

Coordinates

30.7814, -83.2761

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-301

Registration

N42993

Category

Airplane

Year built

1983

Engines

1

Operator

BC Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gulfport → Valdosta

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15CA117

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to compensate for gusty wind conditions during the landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing and subsequent nose landing gear collapse.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was landing the airplane in turbulent conditions with gusting wind. He stated that during the landing flare, the airplane encountered an updraft, followed immediately by a downdraft. The airplane subsequently impacted the runway and the nose landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the engine firewall. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Review of archived weather information for the accident airport about the time of the accident revealed variable wind at 9 knots with gusts to 19 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.