N38718

On May 17, 1997, at 1540 hours Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-201, ran off the runway and struck a ditch while landing in Henderson, Nevada. The aircraft sustained substantial damage; however, neither the pilot nor his passenger was injured. The aircraft was being operated by the pilot/owner as a personal flight when the accident occurred. The flight originated in Bakersfield, California, about 1400. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the destination airport and no flight plan was filed.

The tower operator reported that the pilot had made four previous go-arounds to runway 18 before landing on the fifth attempt. The pilot initiated the approach with the right wing low and landed on the right main gear. After the right tire touched down, the right wing came up and the aircraft veered to the left. The aircraft ran off the left side of the runway about 100 feet beyond the point of initial touchdown and struck a row of very large rocks that were alongside the runway. The main landing gear collapsed and the aircraft stopped after sliding into a 8-foot rocky drop-off.

The pilot stated that he did not have enough airspeed to attempt a go-around so he opted to allow the aircraft to run off the runway. The tower advised the pilot that the surface winds were from 230 degrees at 15 knots, gusting to 25. The pilot operating handbook for the aircraft states the maximum demonstrated crosswind component is 17 knots.