| Crash location | 40.947500°N, 74.314444°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect. |
| Nearest city | Lincoln Park, NJ
40.520105°N, 74.385428°W 29.8 miles away |
| Tail number | N551N |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 02 Aug 2009 |
| Aircraft type | Piper PA-34-200T |
| Additional details: | None |
The pilot stated that because the runway was wet, he was "determined to touch down as close to the approach end as possible." On landing, the airplane bounced, and the nose and main landing gear subsequently collapsed. The airplane came to rest on the runway, approximately 1,700 feet beyond the landing threshold, and sustained substantial damage. An airport surveillance video camera captured the accident sequence. Review of the video indicated that the airplane first contacted the runway just beyond the displaced threshold, in a flat attitude, with no flare or float. The airplane bounced and re-contacted the runway on its nose landing gear, which then collapsed. This was followed by a series of rapid, large-amplitude pitch oscillations, and collapse of the main gear.
The pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a bounced landing, and the subsequent collapse of the landing gear.