Allegheny County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

West Mifflin, Pennsylvania 15122
Sunday, August 4, 2013 15:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot he encountered turbulence and gusting winds at his destination airport. During his landing attempt, the airplane landed hard on the nose gear, resulting in substantial damage to the forward bulkhead. The pilot did not report any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A review of the weather revealed winds from 340 degrees at 7 knots with no gusts.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/4/2013
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City West Mifflin
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 15122
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 402116N
Event Location Longitude 0795549W
Event Location Airport Allegheny County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AGC
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 1252
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID AGC
Elevation of weather observation facility 1252
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.07
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KAGC 041853Z AUTO 34007KT 300V040 10SM FEW04
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 32307
NTSB Notification Source FAA Eastern ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 4 2014 3:44PM
User who most recently changed record gots
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N75131
NTSB Number ERA13CA357
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-34-200T
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 34-7670225
Certified Max Gross Weight 4342
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 2
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 4
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 1 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3200
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name HIGHTAIL LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 449 CHARMAN ST
Aircraft Owner City OREGON CITY
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97045-3209
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name HIGHTAIL LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 449 CHARMAN ST
Operator City OREGON CITY
Operator State OR
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 97045-3209
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code FLD
Departure City Fond du Lac
Departure State WI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code AGC
Destination City West Mifflin
Destination State PA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 4 2014 3:45PM
User who most recently changed record gots
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 31
Runway Length 3825
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --