Piper PA-28 N5584U accident near Ray, Michigan

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain a proper approach speed, which resulted in in a hard landing and a runway excursion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to fly the airplane without an instructor onboard.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot (the owner of the airplane) was landing at the airport following a local flight. Witnesses reported that the airplane made several landing attempts, but, each time, the airplane was too fast or too high to land. On the last attempt, the airplane touched down hard and fast about halfway down the 2,495-ft-long runway. The airplane continued off the end of the runway, across a road, through a field, and struck several small trees and a tractor before coming to a stop. An examination of the airplane's systems revealed no pre-impact anomalies that contributed to the accident.

A flight instructor who had previously flown with the pilot told the pilot that he should fly only with an instructor on board, and that he was not ready to fly the airplane alone. Thus, it is likely that the pilot did not have the necessary experience to conduct a successful landing in the airplane.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN17LA341 for the full record.