N819C – Piper PA-32-301XTC – 2008-01-17 NTSB Accident Report

On January 17, 2008, a Piper PA-32-301XTC (N819C) was involved in an incident near Taos, NM. All 4 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's excessive airspeed during the approach and loss of control during the landing. Contributing factors were the mountain turbulence and the snowbank.

According to the pilot, he departed McKinney (TKI), Texas, on a visual flight rules flight to Angel Fire (AXX), New Mexico. During the approach to AXX, the airplane encountered "extreme mountain turbulence" and the pilot "kept his speed up." Shortly after touchdown at AXX, the airplane "windmilled" to the left. The pilot then aborted the landing and during initial climb, the airplane's main landing impacted a snow bank located at the end of the runway. The main landing gear separated from the airplane, and the airplane remained airborne. The pilot then flew around the local area for an unspecified period of time and landed gear-up at Taos, New Mexico. During the gear-up landing at Taos, the airplane departed the runway surface and impacted the snow covered terrain.

This incident is documented in NTSB report DEN08CA051. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N819C.