Piper PA-28-140 N6784F accident near Livingston, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot's delay to not perform a go-around when he lost sight of the runway while on final approach to land at night. Contributing to the accident was the obscuration (tall grass) of the runway edge lights.

NTSB analysis

During a cross country night VFR flight, the pilot decided to make a stop to refuel prior to continuing to his final destination. After overflying the airport, he entered a standard left-hand traffic pattern. The pilot stated that everything was normal until nearing his flare to land on final approach. The runway lights began to disappear from the pilot's view for an unknown reason. As the pilot caught a glance of runway markings from the airplane's landing light reflection, he added power to execute a go-around but touched down just left of the runway's asphalt surface. He stated that the touchdown was gentle, so he elected to abandon the go-around and reduced power. The airplane then contacted unseen taxi signs with the right wing and right landing gear and the left landing gear before the pilot maneuvered the airplane back onto the runway surface. The airplane sustained substantial damage to leading edge of the right wing from the contact with the taxi signs. After exiting the airplane, the pilot discovered that the grass surrounding the runway had not been cut and was waist high, which could have obscured the runway lighting as the airplane descended on short final approach. He stated that he was not able to see and avoid the taxi signs. The pilot stated after the accident that he was not expecting to lose sight of the runway lighting during final approach. He also stated that he should have made the decision to attempt a go-around sooner.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN13CA303 for the full record.