Piper PA 16 N5735H

Summary

On 10 June 2015 at about 02:45 local time, a Piper PA 16 registered N5735H, operated by Sickel Mason L, was involved in an accident near Tollville, Arkansas, 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

10 June 2015 at 02:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Tollville, Arkansas, United States

Nearest airport

Private Airstrip (Unkn)

Coordinates

34.7128, -91.5297

Aircraft

Piper PA 16

Registration

N5735H

Category

Airplane

Year built

1949

Engines

1

Operator

Sickel Mason L

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hazen → Tollville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

GAA15CA114

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing flare, which resulted in the airplane impacting a rice field and nosing over.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while on short final to the unlit airstrip; during the flare, he lost sight of the runway and the airplane veered to the right, impacted a rice field, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and lift strut. The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation The pilot stated that the accident may have been mitigated if he would have landed on a lit runway and conducted a wheel landing instead of a three point landing, which would have allowed him to maintain a visual of the runway until his main wheels where on the ground.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.