Summary
On April 30, 2009, a Piper PA-30 (N8034Y) was involved in an incident near Great Barrington, MA. All 1 person 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 decision to land with a tailwind.
The pilot was flying to the accident airport to have scheduled maintenance accomplished on the airplane's cabin heater. The airplane approached runway 29, a 2,579-foot-long, 50-foot-wide, asphalt runway. While crossing the runway threshold, the pilot felt that the "ground speed was faster" than he thought. After touching down "about one-third down" the runway, the pilot utilized maximum braking and instead of running off the end of the runway, he elected to "ground loop" the airplane. The airplane veered to the right, departed the paved portion of the runway, and slid down into a ditch approximately 20 feet from the edge of the runway, damaging the left wing spar.
This incident is documented in NTSB report ERA09CA277. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N8034Y.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's improper decision to land with a tailwind.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
The pilot was flying to the accident airport to have scheduled maintenance accomplished on the airplane's cabin heater. The airplane approached runway 29, a 2,579-foot-long, 50-foot-wide, asphalt runway. While crossing the runway threshold, the pilot felt that the "ground speed was faster" than he thought. After touching down "about one-third down" the runway, the pilot utilized maximum braking and instead of running off the end of the runway, he elected to "ground loop" the airplane. The airplane veered to the right, departed the paved portion of the runway, and slid down into a ditch approximately 20 feet from the edge of the runway, damaging the left wing spar. The pilot also reported that after exiting the airplane the windsock was varying; however, it appeared to be indicating a quartering tailwind. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector confirmed continuity to all control surfaces and damage to the outboard section of the wing spar. The recorded wind at an airport located about 15 miles north of the accident site, about the time of the accident, was variable at 3 knots, gusting to 19 knots.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ERA09CA277