Piper PA-60-602P N6902L

Summary

On 2 April 2012 at about 16:26 local time, a Piper PA-60-602P registered N6902L was involved in an accident near Philadelphia, 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

2 April 2012 at 16:26

Classification

Accident

Location

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Philadelphia International (PHL)

Coordinates

39.8700, -75.2378

Aircraft

Piper PA-60-602P

Registration

N6902L

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lock Haven → Philadelphia

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12CA266

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control while landing in gusting crosswind conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was cleared to land on runway 26. The recorded surface wind at the airport around the time of the accident was from 330 to 340 degrees at 14 to 18 knots, gusting to 25 knots; a peak wind gust from 350 degrees at 26 knots was recorded about 7 minutes after the accident. The pilot said that he landed on the left main gear with the right main intermittently touching the ground and tried to lower the right wing to improve wheel-to-runway contact but was unsuccessful because of a wind gust. The airplane swerved off the left side of the runway onto the soft grass area, where the airplane’s main landing gear collapsed, and both wings were substantially damaged. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.