Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot misjudged her altitude and airspeed. Factors include a wet runway surface and high vegetation off the end of the runway.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On September 19, 1998, approximately 1400 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180, N33321, went off the end of the runway and collided with high vegetation at Whidbey Airpark, near Langley, Washington. The commercial pilot and her two passengers were not injured, but the aircraft, which was owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which departed Eugene, Oregon about 1000, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions at the time of the accident. While en route, the pilot had been on an IFR flight plan, and there was no report of an ELT activation.
According to the pilot, who had canceled her IFR clearance upon arriving in the vicinity of Whidbey Island, she landed too fast on the 2,400 foot wet runway, and was unable to stop prior to reaching the end. After the aircraft departed the runway, it collided with heavy brush and a dense berry briar.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# SEA98LA183