Event NYC00LA254

Factual narrative

On September 7, 2000, about 1800 Eastern Daylight Time, a Piper PA-24-260, N8704P, was substantially damaged during a landing at Seamans Field (9N3), Factoryville, Pennsylvania. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed for the personal flight, conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot reported that he was practicing a short field landing, and "must have gotten behind the airplane." The airplane touched down about 1 foot short of the runway, broke the left landing gear, bent the right landing gear, and damaged both wings. The pilot also noted that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane. The pilot stated that he had returned from a day trip, and made a full-stop landing at dusk. He then taxied back, took off, and flew a pattern for a practice short field landing to Runway 22. During the landing, the airplane struck a runway threshold light, the left landing gear strut collapsed, and the airplane veered off to the left. The pilot also reported that he had over 9,400 hours of flight time. Winds, recorded at an airport 12 nautical miles to the south, about 1/2 hour before the accident, were from 180 degrees true, at 8 knots. During a practice short field landing at dusk, the airplane touched down about 1 foot short of the runway. It struck a runway threshold light, the left landing gear strut collapsed, and the airplane veered off to the left. There were no mechanical problems with the airplane, and the commercial pilot had over 9,400 hours of flight time. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12