Piper PA-46-310 accident near Palo Alto, California, March 5, 2000
On March 5, 2000 at about 8:27 pm local time, a Piper PA-46-310, registered N43412, was substantially damaged in an accident near Palo Alto, California (Palo Alto 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to obtain/maintain the proper visual glide path resulting in an undershoot and collision with the runway edge.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 5, 2000 · about 8:27 pm local time
- Place
- Palo Alto, California · Palo Alto · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-46-310 · all PA-46-310s on the register
- Registration
- N43412 · registry record · serial 8408034
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane landed approximately 2 feet short of the runway, and then struck the lip of the pavement, which sheered off the left main gear. The gear itself hung onto the trunnion by the brake lines until the airplane came to rest, approximately 600 feet down the runway. Additionally, the airplane struck a taxiway sign with the left wing while it was traveling down the runway. The pilot told investigators that he was planning on landing on runway 30 and was using 85 knots as his target speed. He said that about 100 feet agl he noticed that he had an excessive sink rate and noticed that his airspeed was about 97 knots. He decided to trade his airspeed to cut the sink rate and said by the time he noticed it wasn't working, he was already on the ground.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 10,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,923 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 2, 1999; 66 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO520 BE1G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: STS Santa Rosa CA at 7:15 pm
- Destination: PAO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 30, 2,500 ft by 65 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,000 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:30 pm from KPA, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.