Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to execute a go-around. Factors were the excessive airspeed and high glidepath during the approach.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
Following an approach the student pilot characterized as 'too high and too fast', the airplane touched down at midfield. When the pilot realized he would be unable to stop on the remaining runway, he elected to exit the right side of the 4,183 foot long runway. The airplane crossed a taxiway and then impacted a fence.
Source record
Factual narrative
On May 28, 1995, at 1230 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28- 140, N9541W, collided with a fence during landing near Stephenville, Texas. The student pilot was not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane departed Arlington, Texas, at 1147 CDT for the solo cross country instructional flight conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. A VFR flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. During a telephone interview, the pilot stated that his final approach to runway 14 at Clark Field Municipal Airport was "too high and too fast." He further stated that, after touching down about midfield, he realized the airplane was moving too fast to stop in the runway remaining and decided to exit the right side of the runway. The airplane crossed a taxiway and impacted a barbed wire fence severing the outboard third of the right wing. Runway 14 is 4,183 feet long. -