Piper PA 28 N8258S
24 September 2015 · Van Nuys, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 24 September 2015 at about 22:00 local time, a Piper PA 28 registered N8258S, operated by Skyward Aviation Inc, was involved in an accident near Van Nuys, California, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 22:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Van Nuys, California, United States
- Nearest airport
- Van Nuys (VNY)
- Coordinates
- 34.2097, -118.4900
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 28
- Registration
- N8258S
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1981
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Skyward Aviation Inc
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Santa Monica → Van Nuys
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- GAA15CA276
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to compensate for turbulence during the landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing and runway excursion.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The student pilot reported that during the landing, as he began to flare, the airplane was, "hit with the first blast of wake turbulence", from a helicopter that was hovering on the helipad to the left of the runway. The airplane landed hard, exited the runway to the right, and collided with a runway sign. According to the meteorological terminal aviation routine weather report (METAR) at the airport, the temperature was 99 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind was variable at 4 knots. The helicopter pad was located over 400 feet to the east of the location that the pilot reported encountering the blast of wake turbulence. Due to the distance of the helicopter pad from the event location, the ambient temperature, and lack of significant wind, it is likely the student pilot encountered thermal related turbulence on short final.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-28 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Jul 2015 | Piper PA-28-151 | Perkasie, Pennsylvania, United States | Verespy Stephen J JR | No injuries | - |
| 21 Mar 2015 | Piper PA-28-235 | Woodstock, Georgia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 31 Oct 2015 | Piper PA 28-140 | Perry, New York, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 15 Apr 2015 | Piper PA-28-140 | Lancaster, New York, United States | Hotung Lisa M | No injuries | - |
| 24 Jul 2015 | Piper PA-28-151 | Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 5 Nov 2015 | Piper PA 28-180 | Cornelia, Georgia, United States | - | Fatal | 3 |
All 9,402 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Dec 2015 | Boeing 737 76N | San Diego, California, United States | Southwest Airlines Co | Serious injuries | - |
| 9 Jun 2015 | Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G 164A | Bakersfield, California, United States | Nelson Kenneth D | No injuries | - |
| 1 Feb 2015 | Robinson R44 II | Calexico, California, United States | John Reed Aviation | No injuries | - |
| 14 Apr 2015 | Robert C Hanson PITTS S2E | Lebec, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 17 Apr 2015 | Piper PA 18-150 | La Quinta, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 18 Apr 2015 | Cessna 206H | Redding, California, United States | McClelland Aviation Inc | Fatal | 1 |