At about 14:30 eastern time, a Piper PA-34-200 crashed while landing at Washington County Regional Airport. The pilot was not injured. The pilot initially had flown an ILS at Martinsburg, W.Va., but encountered turbulence and wind gusts he thought exceeded the airplanes limits. He did not land and proceeded to Hagerstown, where he flew the ILS into runway 27. Winds at the time were 30 degrees off the runway at 18 knots. As he neared the flare the wind subsided. The pilot said the airplane was hit by turbulence when it was three to five feet above the runway. The airplane porpoised several times and the nose gear collapsed. The pilot reported 2,530 hours of flight experience, of which 7.5 hours were in make and model.
April 13, Hagerstown, Md. / Piper Seneca
At about 14:30 eastern time, a Piper PA-34-200 crashed while landing at Washington County Regional Airport. The pilot was not injured. The pilot initially had flown an ILS at Martinsburg, W.Va., but encountered turbulence and wind gusts he thought exceeded the airplanes limits. He did not land and proceeded to Hagerstown, where he flew the ILS into runway 27. Winds at the time were 30 degrees off the runway at 18 knots. As he neared the flare the wind subsided. The pilot said the airplane was hit by turbulence when it was three to five feet above the runway. The airplane porpoised several times and the nose gear collapsed. The pilot reported 2,530 hours of flight experience, of which 7.5 ho...
Key Takeaways:
- A Piper PA-34-200 crashed at Washington County Regional Airport when its nose gear collapsed during a landing, though the pilot was uninjured.
- The pilot had previously diverted from an ILS approach at Martinsburg, W.Va., due to encountering turbulence and wind gusts exceeding the aircraft's limits.
- During the incident landing, the aircraft, piloted by someone with only 7.5 hours in make and model, was hit by sudden turbulence 3-5 feet above the runway after initial crosswinds subsided, causing it to porpoise.
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