N8258S

On September 24, 2015, a Piper PA 28 (N8258S) was involved in an incident near Van Nuys, CA. 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 failure to compensate for turbulence during the landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing and runway excursion.

The student pilot reported that during the landing, as he began to flare, the airplane was, "hit with the first blast of wake turbulence", from a helicopter that was hovering on the helipad to the left of the runway. The airplane landed hard, exited the runway to the right, and collided with a runway sign.

According to the Meteorological Terminal Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) at the airport, the temperature was 99 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind was variable at 4 knots.

The helicopter pad was located over 400 feet to the east of the location that the pilot reported encountering the blast of wake turbulence.

This incident is documented in NTSB report GAA15CA276. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N8258S.