Piper PA-32R-300 accident near Gettysburg, South Dakota, June 5, 2022
On June 5, 2022 at about 4:35 pm local time, a 1976 Piper PA-32R-300, registered N901BW, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Gettysburg, South Dakota (Gettysburg Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An inadvertent hard landing by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 5, 2022 · about 4:35 pm local time
- Place
- Gettysburg, South Dakota · Gettysburg Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300, built 1976 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N901BW · registry record · serial 32R-7680451
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that the landing was “harder than normal” but otherwise uneventful. However, about 2,000 ft down the runway during the rollout, the nose landing gear collapsed. A postaccident examination determined that the right nose landing gear attachment on the engine mount had separated in tensile and shear overstress fracture. The hard landing likely fractured the engine mount and separated the attachment foot, resulting in the nose landing gear collapse during rollout.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Landing gear collapse during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail landing gear › Capability exceeded
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,177 hours in all; 436 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: August 30, 2021
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,492 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 17, 2021; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 4,492 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FNB Falls City NE at 1:50 pm
- Destination: 0D8 Gettysburg SD
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 13, 4,400 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,900 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.73 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 am from KPIR, 39 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KPIR 051653Z AUTO 12014KT 10SM OVC039 18/13 A2973
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN22LA257.