NTSB GAA20CA079 — 2019-10-19 · Quakertown, Pennsylvania, United States

Current FAA registration · N2961W

Make / Model: PIPER PA-28-161
Year of manufacture: 1979 · 40 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19790723
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A30E54

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N2961W Piper PA28 None

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing, and his subsequent failure to maintain directional control, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with a drainage culvert.

Factual narrative

According to the student pilot, he was performing a solo training flight in the traffic pattern at the time of the accident. During the landing flare, the airplane touched down hard and bounced about 20 ft to the left of the runway centerline. It subsequently exited the left side of the runway and entered a drainage culvert before it came to a stop. The pilot reported that the wind was light and variable with no gusts present. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount. The student pilot reported that he was performing a solo training flight in the traffic pattern. During the landing flare, the airplane touched down hard and bounced about 20 ft left of the runway centerline. It subsequently exited the left side of the runway and entered a drainage culvert before it came to a stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount. 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-Student/instructed pilot - C
C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C
C Environmental issues-Physical environment-Terrain-Sloped/uneven terrain-Effect on operation - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2019_GAA20CA079.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