NTSB Factual Report

On October 25, 2001, at 1830 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-200, N1585X, was substantially damaged during landing at Belmar/Allaire Airport (BLM), Farmingdale, New Jersey. The certificated flight instructor and private pilot were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

The purpose of the flight was to check the pilot out in the airplane. After completing air work in the local practice area, the pilot and flight instructor returned to the airport.

In a written statement, the flight instructor said:

"We returned to the airport to practice touch and go's. [The pilot] used the appropriate checklists and updated weather, which reported winds 30018G22. He entered downwind for runway 32. Landing gear extension was normal. The landing was safely accomplished on the centerline. [The pilot] added power and completed the touch and go in a satisfactory way.

[The pilot] entered the downwind for another touch and go. Again the approach was normal. [The pilot] had trouble maintaining the centerline in the flare and on landing the aircraft settled firmly on the left main landing gear. [The pilot] had trouble controlling the aircraft at this time, so I took over. The aircraft was handling normally, so I completed the touch and go in order to demonstrate a landing. Gear retraction appeared to be normal. However, upon extending the gear on downwind there was no left gear indication light. We recycled the gear but still did not get the light. At this point, [the pilot] saw what appeared to be damage to the left wing skin.

We climbed to 2,500 feet and went through the checklist to try and solve the problem. We contacted ground personnel and flew low passes to get a visual indication of the landing gear situation, which showed the left landing gear stuck about midway between retracted and extended.

I landed on the right gear and held the aircraft off the left gear as long as possible. The plane slid off the runway to the left."

In a telephone interview, the flight instructor reported that the wind was gusting on the day of the accident. However, he felt comfortable flying in this weather condition.

The instructor stated that the pilot's approach was normal. The pilot corrected for the left crosswind by lowering the left wing into the wind and he maintained runway centerline alignment with the rudder. According to the record of conversation, the instructor said:

"Once over the runway, the airplane was hanging in the air for awhile to get down with the gusts. About 3 feet above the ground, when the pilot was transitioning from a crab to flying straight, a wind gust hit the airplane. The left wing bottomed out, and the airplane landed firmly on the left main landing gear."

The instructor also stated that when the left main landing gear contacted the ground, the nose of the airplane was positioned about 10-20 degrees to the right of the runway centerline, and the pilot was having difficulty controlling the airplane. He said the situation was "becoming excessive", and took control of the airplane.

A witness observed the airplane practicing touch and go's. In a written statement, he said:

"I observed a Piper Arrow, N1585X, practicing touch and go's in wind conditions that I thought were, as a commercial pilot, gusting a little on the high side for practice in a light aircraft. The winds also appeared to be shifting between 210 degrees to 320 degrees. I then observed the Arrow, N1585X, landing in a position that appeared the aircraft was caught in a high gust in which lifted the aircraft in a very high nose and left wing attitude and the right main gear coming in hard contact with the runway, first slamming the left main to the pavement then the nose gear. It appeared that the aircraft stalled at about 5-6 feet above the runway in this position. The aircraft then continued around for another touch and go."

A trooper with the New Jersey State Police interviewed the flight instructor and pilot at the accident site. According to the police report, "The pilots stated that when they tried to land the aircraft in the windy conditions, the left side landing gear slammed onto the runway causing same to malfunction."

A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane at the accident site. According to the inspector, both wings' front spars were twisted, and the left main gear forward attach mounting bracket was broken. A portion of the bracket punctured through the upper surface of the wing's skin and separated from the airplane. This section of the bracket was not located.

The two remaining sections of the forward landing gear trunnion were examined at the Safety Board Materials Analysis Laboratory, Washington, DC. According to a Safety Board metallurgist, there was no evidence of a preexisting crack or corrosion damage. The fracture faces contained features typical of overstress separation.

When asked what caused the accident, the instructor said:

"The landing caused the damage due to the impact and position of the gear."

In a written statement, the pilot said:

"The second landing I made was quite hard, in fairly gusty winds."

Runway 32 was a 7,300 foot long and 80 foot wide asphalt runway.

The flight instructor reported a total of 1,240 flight hours of flight time; 5 hours in make and model, of which 2.6 hours were as pilot in command.

Weather at Allaire Airport, at 1815, was reported as wind from 280 degrees at 14 knots gusting to 18 knots, sky clear, and visibility 10 statute miles.

According to the Piper Arrow Operating Manual, the demonstrated crosswind component was 20 miles per hour.

NTSB Probable Cause

the flight instructor's delayed remedial action to correct the pilot's lack of directional control during landing. A factor was the crosswind.