Piper PA-28R-200 N4290T accident near Fallbrook, California

Probable cause

The pilot's improper use of the brakes and his failure to maintain control of the airplane during landing rollout.

NTSB analysis

According to the pilot, he arrived from the northeast and entered the extended right base leg for Runway 18, a 2,160-foot-long asphalt runway. The winds were reported as 3 knots from the south. Prior to being established on the base leg, he had set full flaps and lowered the landing gear. He said that by the time he turned onto final, the airplane "may have seemed slightly high, speed was good and descent rate appeared good." He further stated that while he landed the airplane on the first half of the runway, he perhaps floated a little bit and that "the landing was a little further than I anticipated." The landing rollout was good until he reached "a slight mound in the runway" that created an optical illusion of the runway's end being closer than it was. He then locked the brakes and skidded off the runway into the brush.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR09CA132 for the full record.