Piper PA-28 Archer Serious Incident at Japura Airport (PK-ARH)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On 7 October 2017, a Piper Archer TX, PA-28-181, registered PK-ARH, operated by Sekolah Tinggi Penerbangan Indonesia (Indonesia Civil Aviation Institute), conducted a solo short cross-country triangle flight training from Japura Airport (WIBJ) in Rengat, Republic of Indonesia. The flight route included waypoints BUKTI and JATAM before returning to the origin. The aircraft took off from runway 28 at 0734 local time (0034 UTC) under daylight conditions and climbed to 6,500 feet on a heading of 180°. ## Approach and Initial Landing Attempts At 0058 UTC, the pilot reported being over waypoint BUKTI, located 33 nautical miles from Japura Airport, and continued on a heading of 106° toward JATAM. By 0119 UTC, the pilot reported over JATAM and was advised to report when ready to descend. Approximately 20 nautical miles from Japura, the pilot received instructions to descend to 1,500 feet and join the right downwind for runway 10. Overhead Japura, the pilot was cleared to descend to 1,000 feet and join the circuit. During the first downwind leg, the pilot felt the distance was too close. While turning base leg, the aircraft overturned, though the pilot recovered to align with the runway. The Japura Tower controller informed the pilot that the wind was calm, but the pilot could not recall the windsock condition. The pilot recalled an airspeed of 70 knots during final approach. The aircraft touched down on the runway centerline, but after the pilot retracted the flaps and applied brakes, the aircraft veered left. The pilot corrected with right rudder, causing the aircraft to veer right. The pilot then decided to go around and joined the right downwind for runway 10 again. ## Subsequent Go-Arounds and Final Landing On the second landing, the aircraft touched down on the centerline. Anticipating the previous issue, the pilot applied the right brake slightly deeper. The aircraft veered right, and the pilot felt vibration. The pilot increased engine power for a go-around and joined the right downwind. During the third landing, the pilot again applied the right brake slightly deeper. The aircraft veered right with vibration. The pilot attempted a go-around; initially, pulling the control column did not lift the aircraft, but pushing the column increased speed, and the aircraft became airborne. While on downwind, the Japura Tower controller advised the pilot to land on runway 28. The pilot turned to establish downwind for runway 28. On the fourth landing, the touchdown was normal. The pilot did not apply brakes until the aircraft speed slowed, then made a 180-degree turn and taxied to the apron. ## Damage and Pilot Background No injuries were reported. The aircraft sustained no damage, but one runway light was broken. Tire marks indicated the aircraft exited to the right of runway 10 approximately 850 meters from the beginning, reaching 30 meters from the pavement on the first excursion and 60 meters on the second. The student pilot was 23 years old, holding a valid student pilot license and medical certificate with no limitations. The pilot had accumulated 48 flight hours on the Piper Archer TX, PA-28-181, and was released for solo short cross-country triangle flight on 4 October 2017.