On August 1, 1984, a Piper PA-23-250T (registration N63974) was involved in an aviation accident near Hyannis, NE. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
A pilot, using a passenger's car headlights for landing direction, touched down long and ran off the runway into soft sand. The nose gear and right main gear collapsed. The pilot later reported a tailwind of 5-10 knots.
Incident Details
The pilot had previously arranged for the passenger to be picked up to use the car's headlights as a visual indicator for the landing direction. Upon reaching the destination, the pilot observed the headlights at the southern edge of the runway, pointing north. The pilot then performed a landing. The aircraft touched down long, exceeding the available runway length, and ran off the end. The terrain beyond the runway consisted of soft sand. The nose landing gear and the right main landing gear collapsed during the overrun.
Pilot's Account
After the accident, the pilot stated that he found he had a tailwind of 5 to 10 knots at the time of the landing.