Primary finding
Probable cause
The student pilot's misjudgement of distance and speed, and his failure to perform a go-around while there was still sufficient runway remaining.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The student pilot was conducting a solo cross-country flight, during which he operated in and out of several airports. He arrived at Warwick Municipal, the fifth airport, and performed a landing on runway 3R. The pilot reported that during the landing roll, the brakes were ineffective, and he steered off the right side of the runway to stop. Postaccident examination by an FAA Inspector revealed skid marks that started about 2/3 of the way down the 2150 foot long, 35 foot wide runway and continued off the right side. The FAA Inspector's report stated, 'Pilot landed long...and could not stop. Shut engine down and swerved off to the right side of the runway, left wing struck tree.' Postaccident examination by a mechanic revealed no preimpact anomalies with the brake system.
Source record
Factual narrative
On September 24, 1995, about 1300 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180, N2418R, was substantially damaged when it impacted a tree during the landing roll, at the Warwick Municipal Airport, Warwick, New York. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the instructional cross country flight that departed Montgomery, New York. A visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. During a telephone interview, the student pilot stated that this was the fifth airport he was operating at that day. He performed an approach and landing to runway 3R at Warwick. During the landing roll, the brakes were ineffective, and he tried to stop the airplane by steering off the right side of the runway. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, skid marks were observed approximately 2/3 down the 2150 foot long, 35 foot wide runway. The skid marks continued down and off the right side of the runway. The FAA Inspector's report stated, "Pilot landed long...and could not stop. [Pilot] shut engine down and swerved off to the right side of the runway, left wing struck tree." Postaccident examination by a mechanic revealed no preimpact anomalies with the brake system, and the airplane was then ferried to Middletown, New York. During the ferry flight, the brakes were functional. Additionally, the pilot reportedly had approximately 100 hours of total flight experience, of which 50 hours were solo. -