Piper PA-32-301 accident near Reno, Nevada, September 16, 2005
On September 16, 2005 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-301, registered N8063T, was substantially damaged in an accident near Reno, Nevada (Reno/Tahoe Int'L 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
the pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions and failure to maintain directional control. Contributing factors to the accident were the gusting quartering tail wind conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 16, 2005 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Reno, Nevada · Reno/Tahoe Int'L Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-301 · all PA-32-301s on the register
- Registration
- N8063T · registry record · serial 32-8206018
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane collided with a runway sign during landing and the firewall and left wing spar attach point were damaged. The pilot said that the flight went as planned until arriving into the vicinity of his landing airport. Approximately 20 nautical miles south, the pilot received the weather information. The winds were reported out of the west at 23 knots, gusting to 30 knots. He was cleared to land on runway 16R and while he was on final, the air traffic control tower controller requested that the pilot go-around due to inbound jet traffic. The pilot was then cleared to land on runway 16L. During touchdown on runway 16L, the airplane's indicated air speed (IAS) was 70 knots and 20 degrees of flaps were extended. As the airplane rolled down the runway, the IAS increased 10 to 15 knots. After 300 feet of roll out, a wind gust hit the airplane and pushed it to the left side of the runway. The pilot applied corrective action; however, the airplane impacted a runway sign approximately 6 to 10 feet from the runway edge. After the airplane impacted the sign, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane slid to a stop. The left wing spar attach was damaged and the firewall sustained impact damage. No mechanical problems were reported.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 196 hours in all; 97 in this make and model; 42 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: F70 Murrieta CA
- Destination: RNO Reno/Tahoe CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16L, 9,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 13 knots, gusting 24
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 12,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:56 pm from RNO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 LAX05CA307.