Piper PA-28-180 N7528W

Summary

On 22 July 2023 at about 11:37 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N7528W was involved in an accident near Winter Haven, Florida, 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

22 July 2023 at 11:37

Classification

Accident

Location

Winter Haven, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Winter Haven Rgnl (GIF)

Coordinates

28.0629, -81.7533

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N7528W

Category

Airplane

Year built

1963

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23LA311

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with a taxiway sign.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot was on a solo cross-country flight. The pilot arrived at the destination airport, and after an uneventful landing, he planned to practice takeoffs and landings in the airport traffic pattern. While on short final approach during the next landing attempt, the pilot contemplated going around as the airplane was not aligned with the runway. He instead continued to approach and attempted to correct the misalignment. While crossing the runway threshold, the airplane was “a little high” and still not aligned along the runway centerline. The pilot reduced the engine power and continued his attempt to align the airplane with the runway using the rudder. The pilot then decided to go around just as the landing gear contacted the runway, adding engine power and pulling back the control yoke. The airplane then veered to the left and departed the runway surface as the pilot reduced the engine power back to idle to stop the go-around attempt. It subsequently collided with a taxiway sign and was substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were not preimpact mechanical malfunctions or the failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.