Piper PA-30 N572AS

Summary

On 16 March 2004 at about 20:00 local time, a Piper PA-30 registered N572AS was involved in an accident near Galveston, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 March 2004 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Galveston, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Scholes International (GLS)

Coordinates

29.2653, -94.8603

Aircraft

Piper PA-30

Registration

N572AS

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Galveston → Galveston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW04LA095

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll. A factor was the pilot's failure to evaluate the wind, prior to landing downwind.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The twin-engine airplane skidded off the runway 31 following a loss of directional control while landing downwind. The 580-hour pilot reported that the final approach was "normal." As the aircraft touched down on Runway 31, the main landing gear hit first, followed by the nose landing gear. After the nose wheel touched-down, the airplane immediately began to feel "squirrelly," and the inputs to the rudder "seemed" to be ineffective. The pilot stated that the brakes "locked up." The aircraft slid for approximately 350 feet and veered off the right side of the runway into an embankment. The winds at the airport at the time of the accident were reported from 130 degrees at 7 knots. Flight control continuity was established and no anomalies were found with the airframe.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.