No fatalities

22 Jul 2012: PIPER PA-30 — CALLON DAVID G — Yelm, WA

Yelm, WA, United States

On 22 Jul 2012, a PIPER PA-30 operated by CALLON DAVID G was involved in an aviation accident near Yelm, WA. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot allowed the airplane to get too slow on approach. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A twin-engine airplane landed hard, veered off the runway, and sustained substantial damage after the pilot allowed it to get too slow on approach, according to the pilot's report.

Accident Sequence

The pilot of a twin-engine airplane reported that during landing on a 2,845-foot-long, hard surfaced runway bordered by trees, the airplane cleared the trees on approach. The pilot then pointed the airplane down. Approximately 50 feet above the ground, the pilot began to flare for landing. However, the airplane did not respond as expected and continued to descend at a steep rate until it impacted the runway's displaced threshold. Following the impact, the airplane veered off the right side of the runway.

Damage

During the accident sequence, the right main landing gear and nose gear collapsed. The right wing and empennage sustained substantial damage.

Pilot Report

The pilot later reported that he had allowed the airplane to get too slow on approach. He also stated that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operations.

Probable cause

The pilot allowed the airplane to get too slow on approach.

Contributing factors

Airspeed — Not attained/maintainedPilotLanding flare — Not attained/maintained