Piper PA-32-260 N3613W

Summary

On 14 August 2024 at about 17:30 local time, a Piper PA-32-260 registered N3613W was involved in an accident near Chetek, Wisconsin, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 August 2024 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Chetek, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Chetek Municipal/Southworth Ai (Y23)

Coordinates

45.3055, -91.6354

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-260

Registration

N3613W

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chetek → Chetek

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN24LA322

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s improper landing flare and hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the airplane landed hard and bounced. He attempted to recover by flaring the nose up to bleed off energy as a gust of wind blew the airplane to the left of runway centerline. The pilot stated that during the hard landing he hit his head on the glareshield and momentarily lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness, the airplane was flying towards the trees located to the east of runway 17. The airplane collided with the trees and both wings separated from the fuselage; the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and empennage. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.