Piper PA28 N6294C

Summary

On 13 November 2024 at about 19:16 local time, a Piper PA28 registered N6294C, operated by SkyBlue Jet Academy, was involved in an accident near Palm Beach Gardens, 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

13 November 2024 at 19:16

Classification

Accident

Location

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

North Palm Beach County Genera (F45)

Coordinates

26.8459, -80.2223

Aircraft

Piper PA28

Registration

N6294C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

SkyBlue Jet Academy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA25LA074

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during landing in a gusting crosswind, which resulted in a hard landing and runway excursion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings at his base airport. While on his first approach to landing, the pilot reported that the wind was very gusty and that the gusts were “stronger than anticipated.” Just before touchdown, a gust of wind pushed the airplane to the right side of the runway. The airplane landed hard and, the nose gear collapsed., and The airplane then went off the side of the runway and into a ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the tubular engine mounts and cockpit floor. The pilot reported there were no anomalies or mechanical failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane and that it “was nothing but a bad landing due to a surprising downdraft and too low to recover.”

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.