Piper PA-28-140 accident near Chandler, Arizona, September 25, 2007
On September 25, 2007 at about 9:15 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-140, registered N6716J, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chandler, Arizona (Stellar Airpark airport). It was an instructional 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 inadequate compensation for wind conditions while landing, which resulted in an undershoot and an in-flight collision with terrain. Factors associated with the accident were the downdraft, the uneven terrain, and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 25, 2007 · about 9:15 pm local time
- Place
- Chandler, Arizona · Stellar Airpark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-140 · all PA-28-140s on the register
- Registration
- N6716J · no longer on the register · serial 28-24-418
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor reported that while on a one mile final approach to Runway 17 and coaching the student pilot on a short field landing, he noticed the airplane's descent rate was greater than 500 feet per minute. The flight instructor stated that he advised the student pilot to increase power, but the student seemed "slow" to add power. The flight instructor further stated, "As we were 300 feet before [the] threshold of Runway 17 we experienced a sinking feeling, [like] a downdraft or vertical wind shear, followed by the airplane's right main landing gear impacting the edge of the asphalt runway, which protrudes a foot higher than terrain at that site." The flight instructor reported that the impact displaced the right main landing gear backward as the airplane skidded to a stop about 1,000 feet down the runway. The pilot stated that damage to the airplane included the right main landing gear bent aft, a hole in the top of the right wing post to the fuel cell, damage to the right flap and right aileron, as well as the left side of the fuselage being wrinkled. The flight instructor stated that there were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,008 hours in all; 160 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 53 hours in all; 53 in this make and model; 8 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CHD Chandler AZ
- Destination: P19 Chandler AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 4,300 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 8:47 pm from CHD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.