Piper AEROSTAR 601P N1SS

Summary

On 14 March 2024 at about 18:48 local time, a Piper AEROSTAR 601P registered N1SS was involved in an accident near Grass Valley, California, 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 March 2024 at 18:48

Classification

Accident

Location

Grass Valley, California, United States

Nearest airport

Nevada County Airport (GOO)

Coordinates

39.2230, -121.0052

Aircraft

Piper AEROSTAR 601P

Registration

N1SS

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Brigham City → Grass Valley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR24LA111

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control in a gusting wind condition.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the AWOS weather reported strong gusts of 15 up to 25 kts straight down the runway. At approximately 20 ft agl, he experienced moderate turbulence and elected to abort the landing and attempted to climb. However, as the airspeed was decreasing the airplane was not gaining altitude. The pilot experienced another strong wind gust which put the airplane into a nose down and right wing low attitude, which he was unable to control and collided with the runway substantially damaging the right wing. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.