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GAA15CA287

2015-09-26 · West Bend, Wisconsin, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport ETB

Current FAA registration · N8583P

Make / Model
PIPER PA-24-260
Year of manufacture
1964 · 51 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING TI0-540 SER (310 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19641015
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S ABC7DF

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain his descent rate during the landing, which resulted in a hard landing and runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that when he initiated the landing flare, his sight picture "looked correct"; however the airplane impacted the runway before he transitioned to a "horizontal" attitude. The pilot reported that the airplane landed hard, bounced, exited the runway to the left, and the landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. The pilot reported that no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies existed with the airplane that would have prevented normal flight operations. The pilot reported that when he initiated the landing flare, his sight picture "looked correct"; however the airplane impacted the runway before he transitioned to a "horizontal" attitude. The pilot reported that the airplane landed hard, bounced, exited the runway to the left, and the landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. The pilot reported that no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies existed with the airplane that would have prevented normal flight operations.   Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent rate-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA15CA287.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). All research papers