No fatalities

29 May 2008: Piper PA-28-161 — University of North Dakota — Grand Forks, ND

Grand Forks, ND, United States

On 29 May 2008, a Piper PA-28-161 operated by University of North Dakota was involved in an aviation accident near Grand Forks, ND. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The student pilot's failure to maintained directional control during the aborted landing. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot's total lack of experience in the type of airplane. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 17 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

During a solo cross-country landing, a student pilot experienced an abrupt left yaw on rollout. After attempting an aborted landing, the airplane veered off the left side of the runway and sustained substantial damage.

Accident Details

The student pilot was completing a solo cross-country flight and was landing at the destination airport. During the landing roll on runway 17, which is 3,900 feet long and 75 feet wide with dry concrete surface, the airplane began to yaw abruptly to the left. The winds at the time were reported from 140 degrees at 13 knots.

Sequence of Events

In response to the sudden left yaw, the student pilot attempted an aborted landing. However, the airplane then veered off the left side of the runway and impacted terrain. The outcome of the event was substantial damage to the aircraft.

Aircraft Damage

The impact caused substantial damage to the airplane. Specific damage included buckled right wing spars, a bent firewall, fuselage damage below the left windshield and side window, a buckled empennage, and a bent horizontal stabilizer.

Contributing factors

Causes

Directional control — Not attained/maintained

Other contributing factors

Pilot