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ERA21LA205

2021-04-30 · Columbia, Kentucky, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport I96

Current FAA registration · N2136M

Make / Model
PIPER PA-28-161
Year of manufacture
1977 · 44 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19771121
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A1C7DD

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to obtain a proper touchdown point on the runway, which resulted in a runway excursion.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, he was landing to verify the fuel quantity in the airplane. Witnesses observed the pilot reject one landing and perform a go-around maneuver. On the second landing, he touched down about ¾ down the 2,600 ft runway and continued off the departure end into the grass and impacted a ditch, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing and engine mounts. After the accident, the pilot stated that the runway was “a short runway, and [he] didn’t anticipate it.” Furthermore, he reported 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

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_ERA21LA205.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion, go-around). All research papers