N7243V

On November 28, 1999, approximately 1345 Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-12, N7243V, experienced a gear collapse during the landing roll on a private airstrip near Goldendale, Washington. The private pilot and his passenger 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 Pearson Airpark, Vancouver, Washington, about 75 minutes earlier, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed, and there was no report of an ELT activation.

According to the pilot, when he touched down on the 30 foot wide runway, the aircraft bounced back into the air. Instead of initiating a go-around, the pilot tried to salvage the landing, and when the aircraft touched down a second time, the left gear was off the side of the runway. Soon after the second touchdown, the left gear impacted a rock just beyond the edge of the runway. As a result of impacting the rock, the left main gear leg collapsed and the left wing contacting the terrain. The pilot reported that there was no evidence of a malfunction in the flight control system, and that the aircraft touched down with one wheel off the runway because he had inadvertently allowed it to drift beyond the runway edge.