Piper PA 46 N9083U

Summary

On 28 December 2015 at about 16:45 local time, a Piper PA 46 registered N9083U, operated by Fly Safely LLC, was involved in an accident near Stevensville, Maryland, 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

28 December 2015 at 16:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Stevensville, Maryland, United States

Nearest airport

Bay Bridge (W29)

Coordinates

38.9764, -76.3300

Aircraft

Piper PA 46

Registration

N9083U

Category

Airplane

Year built

1986

Engines

1

Operator

Fly Safely LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Philadelphia → Stevensville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16CA092

Nobody was injured.

The pilots failure to maintain glide path, descent rate and landing flare, in off shore wind conditions, resulting in a hard landing short of the runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he and his passenger embarked on a cross country flight and intended to land at an airport that borders the Chesapeake Bay. The airport runway approach path extends into the bay and the runway is about 133 feet from the water. The pilot reported that on approach he experienced "gusts/turbulence during the entire approach." The pilot recalled that he made a normal approach as he crossed the bay and when he was over land, he began to flare the airplane. He reported that the airplane "dropped suddenly and I touched down some 20 feet short of the runway" at approximately 75 knots indicated airspeed. The airplane impacted the ground, struck a runway light and became airborne. The pilot attempted to abort the landing by applying full throttle and setting the flaps to 20 degrees, however the airplane settled to the ground, shearing off the landing gear and coming to rest in the safety area north of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the both wings. The reported wind at the arrival airport was reported as being from 070 degrees at 8 knots. The runway heading at the arrival airport was 11. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal flight operation

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.