NTSB CEN22LA095 — 2022-01-05 · Washington, Indiana, United States

Current FAA registration · N1961J

Make / Model: PIPER PA-28-181
Year of manufacture: 1978 · 44 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19780425
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A180F9

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N1961J Piper PA-28-181 None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control while landing in gusty crosswind conditions which resulted in a runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that after an uneventful landing, a strong gust of wind pushed the airplane off the runway surface. The airplane went across the grass and struck a precision approach path indicator light (PAPI). The left wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations. At the time of the accident, the pilot was landing the airplane on runway 18 with wind 250o at 14 knots with gusts to 20 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
— Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation
— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
— Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_CEN22LA095.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers