Piper PA31-310 N97044

Summary

On 18 June 2007 at about 13:20 local time, a Piper PA31-310 registered N97044 was involved in an accident near Marietta, Pennsylvania, United States. One person was 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

18 June 2007 at 13:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Marietta, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Donegal Springs (N71)

Coordinates

40.0922, -77.5744

Aircraft

Piper PA31-310

Registration

N97044

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Warrenton → Marietta

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC07CA141

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to obtain the proper touchdown point, which resulted in an undershoot.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the Piper PA-31-450 reported that he did not have any mechanical or performance problems with the airplane during the instrument flight and subsequent visual approach. The pilot also reported that it was his habit to land unusually close to the runway threshold. He believed that this approach "looked perfect," but at the "last minute," he judged the airplane to be "just a little low" and attempted a correction. The airplane then experienced a "hard hit," and the pilot thought that the main wheels contacted the lip at the end of the runway pavement. The airplane came to rest straddling the right edge of the runway, and was unable to be taxied due to landing gear damage. No one else was present at the time of the accident. The pilot kept a lookout for other aircraft that might attempt to take off or land on the runway, until air traffic control was notified and the airport closed. Ground scars were consistent with landing gear impact just short of the runway. The accident flight was the pilot's third flight to this airport. The pilot stated that neither the weather nor the airport posed any hazards to his landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.