Piper PA-28R-200 N55069

Summary

On 15 May 2005 at about 01:00 local time, a Piper PA-28R-200 registered N55069 was involved in an accident near Tucson, Arizona, 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

15 May 2005 at 01:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Tucson, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Ryan Field Airport (RYN)

Coordinates

32.1358, -111.1744

Aircraft

Piper PA-28R-200

Registration

N55069

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tucson → Tucson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX05CA181

Nobody was injured.

the improper flare by an undetermined crewmember, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the instructional flight in which landings were practiced, one or more touchdowns was firm, and the left wing sustained structural damage. The flight instructor stated that he had performed a total of 15-16 landings in the plane that day with two different students. The purpose of the second flight was to practice short field and 180-degree power off landings for the student's commercial practical exam. The 10th landing of that flight was a 180-degree power off landing that the CFI was demonstrating. He made a touch-and-go following a landing on the 1000-foot markers, and raised the landing gear after obtaining a positive rate of climb. After the gear were raised, the landing gear transition light was still illuminated. He cycled the gear a few more times without solving the problem. They made a full stop and both pilots visually inspected the gear. They could not find anything wrong with the switches and deferred the problem to maintenance. Maintenance personnel examined the gear system and found wing ribs buckled near the left main gear. This prevented the up-limit switch from closing, which prevented the light from functioning normally. They stated that either a hard landing or a landing with excessive side loading could have caused the damage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.