NTSB WPR14CA215 — 2014-05-27 · Novato, California, United States

Current FAA registration · N222RS

Make / Model: PIPER PA-28R-201T
Year of manufacture: 1978 · 36 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR TSIO-360 SER (225 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19780208
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A1E9F7

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N222RS Piper PA28R - 201T None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing roll with a crosswind, which resulted in a runway excursion and impact with terrain.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that about halfway down the runway the airplane encountered a dust devil, which raised the right wing and caused the airplane to skid off the left side of the runway where it impacted a berm. The airplane subsequently rotated 360 degrees to the right, coming to rest on the adjacent taxiway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right door frame structure and the right wing spar. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that about halfway down the runway the airplane encountered a dust devil, which raised the right wing and caused the airplane to skid off the left side of the runway where it impacted a berm. The airplane subsequently rotated 360 degrees to the right, coming to rest on the adjacent taxiway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right door frame structure and the right wing spar. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies 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.

C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
— Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Effect on operation
— Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Debris/dirt/foreign object-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2014_WPR14CA215.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