NTSB ERA22LA208 — 2022-04-25 · Honesdale, Pennsylvania, United States

Current FAA registration · N6121P

Make / Model: PIPER PA-24
Year of manufacture: 1959 · 63 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19590709
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A7F8B5

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N6121P Piper PA-24 None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance with the edge of the asphalt, which resulted in a runway excursion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distraction due to a goose.

Factual narrative

The private pilot was executing a 180° turn at the approach end of the runway to begin takeoff when she saw a goose crossing the runway near her position. To avoid the goose she relaxed the turn, and the right main landing gear wheel rolled off the asphalt in an area with a 4-inch lip. The airplane then rolled down an embankment resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of 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.

— Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot
— Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Animal(s)/bird(s)-Decision related to condition
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_ERA22LA208.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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