Piper PA 22 N1520P

Summary

On 14 July 2020 at about 14:00 local time, a Piper PA 22 registered N1520P was involved in an accident near Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, 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

14 July 2020 at 14:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Fuquay/Angier Field (78NC)

Coordinates

35.5436, -78.7508

Aircraft

Piper PA 22

Registration

N1520P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1954

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fuquay Varina → Fuquay Varina

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20CA251

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to attain a proper approach speed, which resulted in an overrun of the wet grass runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

As the pilot approached the destination airport for landing, he felt that the elevator trim was not working properly. He elected to return to the 2,780-ft-long grass runway at his home airport. While approaching the airport he continued his attempts to adjust the pitch trim, to no avail. He further reported that even after his attempts to adjust the elevator trim, it felt as if there was too much nose down trim, as he had to maintain back pressure on the yoke to keep the wings level. As the approach continued, he felt that he could not slow the airplane down or descend enough and entered a slip. The airplane landed “long and fast,” and the brakes were not effective due to the damp grass. The airplane departed the end of the runway and the right wing was substantially damaged after it impacted a tree. After the accident, the pilot stated that he adjusted the elevator trim and the system seemed to work properly.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.