Piper PA-28RT-201T N29247

Summary

On 20 December 2024 at about 00:20 local time, a Piper PA-28RT-201T registered N29247 was involved in an accident near Placerville, California, 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

20 December 2024 at 00:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Placerville, California, United States

Nearest airport

Placerville (PVF)

Coordinates

38.7240, -120.7542

Aircraft

Piper PA-28RT-201T

Registration

N29247

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR25LA066

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain an adequate descent rate during the landing approach, which resulted in an impact with terrain short of the runway threshold.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while on approach for landing, the visual approach slope indicator showed that he was above the glide slope. He deployed flaps to descend and re-intercept the glide slope. After the pilot noticed that he was a little low he added power to arrest the descent rate. However, the landing gear impacted a berm about 90 feet from the runway approach threshold, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings. The pilot reported that the airplane had no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.