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ERA11CA202

2011-03-02 · Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport XLL

Current FAA registration · N9172V

Make / Model
PIPER PA 46-350P
Seats / Engines
6 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S ACB35E

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to adequately compensate for crosswind conditions, resulting in a hard landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that he landed the airplane in a right crosswind and wind gusts. He applied a right crosswind correction, flared, and touched down with the right main landing gear on the runway. When the pilot removed the right crosswind control corrections, the airplane landed hard and as the nose wheel settled onto the runway, the airplane swerved to the left. The airplane wheel barreled and the nose landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the firewall and forward baggage compartment supports. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane. The pilot reported that he landed the airplane in a right crosswind and wind gusts. He applied a right crosswind correction, flared, and touched down with the right main landing gear on the runway. When the pilot removed the right crosswind control corrections, the airplane landed hard and as the nose wheel settled onto the runway, the airplane swerved to the left. The nose landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the firewall and forward baggage compartment supports. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical problems with the airplane. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_ERA11CA202.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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