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Nov. 09, Puyallup, Wash. / Piper Arrow

At approximately 21:30 Pacific time, a Piper PA-28R-200 on short final for runway 16 encountered rotor wash from a helicopter operating near runway 16 at Pierce County Airport/Thun Field. No one was injured. The airplane experienced a roll, yaw, and sink rate excursion upon encountering the rotor wash. The crew applied corrective flight control inputs in an attempt to counter this excursion, but the airplane touched down in grass adjacent to the paved runway surface. The flight crew, which included a flight instructor and a private pilot receiving flight instruction for his FAA commercial pilot practical test, continued the landing rollout in the grass, but the airplanes nose gear collapsed...

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Key Takeaways:

  • A Piper PA-28R-200 on short final for runway 16 at Pierce County Airport/Thun Field encountered rotor wash from a helicopter.
  • The airplane experienced a roll, yaw, and sink rate excursion, leading it to touch down in the grass adjacent to the paved runway.
  • During the subsequent landing rollout in the grass, the airplane's nose gear collapsed.
  • No one was injured in the incident, which involved a flight instructor and a student pilot.
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At approximately 21:30 Pacific time, a Piper PA-28R-200 on short final for runway 16 encountered rotor wash from a helicopter operating near runway 16 at Pierce County Airport/Thun Field. No one was injured. The airplane experienced a roll, yaw, and sink rate excursion upon encountering the rotor wash. The crew applied corrective flight control inputs in an attempt to counter this excursion, but the airplane touched down in grass adjacent to the paved runway surface. The flight crew, which included a flight instructor and a private pilot receiving flight instruction for his FAA commercial pilot practical test, continued the landing rollout in the grass, but the airplanes nose gear collapsed.

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