N28DA – PIPER PA-42 – 2009-03-09 NTSB Accident Report

On March 09, 2009, a Piper PA-42 (N28DA) was involved in an incident near Belmar, NJ. All 2 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 improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

The pilot in the right seat stated that he was the "flying pilot" at the time of the accident. The flight proceeded normally in instrument meteorological conditions and the VOR-A approach was flown. Visual contact with the airport was made between 1 and 2 miles from the airport, and the pilot circled to land on runway 14. When he was between 200 and 300 hundred feet AGL, he corrected his turn to final with a "slightly aggressive bank angle" while simultaneously reducing power, resulting in an excessive sink rate. He rolled the wings to level and increased power. He was not able to arrest the sink rate before the aircraft impacted the runway. The impact collapsed the left main landing gear and caused the airplane to swerve left.

This incident is documented in NTSB report ERA09CA190. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N28DA.