No fatalities

11 May 2016: PIPER PA 12 — Simsbury, CT

Simsbury, CT, United States

On 11 May 2016, a PIPER PA 12 was involved in an aviation accident near Simsbury, CT. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to attain the proper touchdown point and the airplane's subsequent impact with a fence during an attempted aborted landing. 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 tailwheel airplane bounced on landing, then overran the runway into a fence and nosed over. The pilot reported a faster than normal approach. Substantial damage to the empennage occurred. No mechanical issues were noted.

Incident Details

The pilot of a tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that the approach to landing was faster than normal. After touchdown, the airplane bounced. The pilot elected to abort the landing, but stated it was too late because the airplane was at the end of the runway. The airplane subsequently impacted a fence and nosed over.

Aircraft Damage

Substantial damage was sustained to the empennage.

Pilot Report

According to the pilot, there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Weather Conditions

A review of recorded data from the automated weather observation station located about 4 miles to the east revealed that, about 20 minutes after the accident, the wind was 180 degrees true at 11 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, and sky clear. The airplane landed on runway 03.

Advisory Guidance

The Federal Aviation Administration has published Advisory Circular (AC) 91-79A. This AC discusses the effect of a tailwind on landing distance and states in part: "The effect of a tailwind on landing distance is significant and is a factor in determining the landing distance required. Given the airplane will land at a particular airspeed, independent of the wind, the principal effect of a tailwind on operational landing distance is the change in the ground speed at which the airplane touches down."

Contributing factors

Causes

PilotIncorrect use/operationCapability exceeded

Other contributing factors

Effect on equipmentEffect on operationContributed to outcome