NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN12LA337
Registry · N2434M
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIPER PA-28-181
Year of manufacture
1977 · 35 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19771208
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A23E14
Registrant of record
SKY'S THE LIMIT FLYING CLUB INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's failure to attain a proper touchdown point at the proper speed, his failure to initiate a go-around, and the airplane’s inadequate climb gradient after the aborted landing, which resulted in impact with the trees.
Factual narrative
On June 4, 2012, at 1217 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-181, N2434M, was substantially damaged when it struck a tree during climbout from an aborted landing at Put-in-Bay Airport (3W2), Put-in-Bay, Ohio. The pilot returned to the airport and landed without further incident. The private pilot and three passengers were uninjured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Bluffton Sky Pirates, Inc., under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan had not been filed for the flight that departed from Bluffton Airport (5G7), Bluffton, Ohio, about 1030, and was destined for 3W2. According to the Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the airplane touched down too far down runway 3 (2,870 feet by 75 feet, asphalt), at a fast speed, and began to porpoise. The pilot then performed an aborted landing. During climbout, the airplane's left wing sustained damage to the left wing rib when it struck trees at the departure end of the runway. No other anomalies were found with the airplane. The airplane touched down too far down the runway at a high rate of speed and began to porpoise. The pilot aborted the landing, and during the climb, which was too shallow, the airplane's left wing struck trees near the departure end of the runway and was substantially damaged. The airplane returned to the airport and landed without further incident. Postaccident examination revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
- C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-Pilot - C
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained - C
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-Climb capability-Not attained/maintained - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2012_CEN12LA337.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (go-around). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2025 · Conference Paper
A Training Study to Improve Monitoring During A Go-Around
As part of an FAA program to improve go-around (GA) safety, we were asked to determine if we could improve the performance of the Pilot Monitoring (PM) during a GA maneuver.
- Flight Safety Foundation 2024 · FSF / AeroSafety World
Go-Around Safety Forum Findings
Foundation Go-Around Safety Forum technical findings — examines why pilots fail to execute go-arounds when criteria are met (stabilized approach gate not met, energy state out of envelope, traffic con…
- Semantic Scholar 2022 · Article (Journal of Safety Research)
Go-around accidents and general aviation safety.
INTRODUCTION Changes in General Aviation (GA) accident rates, specifically in the go-around phase, are examined by comparing the number of accidents, the proportion of fatal accidents, and the proport…
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Aerospace)
Classification and Analysis of Go-Arounds in Commercial Aviation Using ADS-B Data
Go-arounds are a necessary aspect of commercial aviation and are conducted after a landing attempt has been aborted. It is necessary to conduct go-arounds in the safest possible manner, as go-arounds …
- NASA NTRS 2021 · Accepted Manuscript (Version with final changes)
Go-Around Criteria Refinement for Transport Category Aircraft
Presently, airline pilots are trained to go around if, when lower than 500 ft above the ground, they are outside of a handful of parameters such as airspeed, position, and rate of descent.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Validation of Proposed Go-Around Criteria Under Various Environmental Conditions
This paper evaluates the effects of environmental conditions on touchdown performance under varying approach states and validates proposed go-around criteria developed using data from a previously con…
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗