Piper Cherokee (N9382W)

I was at Tiger Field performing a photo shoot unrelated to this incident when the pilot of N9328W radioed in on approach. Since I was already there, I photographed the arrival / landing of the Cherokee. It was a routine arrival - no emergency was declared. The accident did not begin until the Piper landed. In my 34-shot sequence of photos, the front tire can be seen exploding in picture #8 and it is definitely deflating as the aircraft sweeps closely past me in pictures #18, #19, and #20. The pilot is plainly visible in those three clicks and he is obviously just beginning to react to the fact that the plane cannot be properly steered during its landing rollout. As the aircraft careened off the west edge, burrowed into the desert landscape, and came to a sliding halt, it occurred to me that I was quite fortunate to be positioned off the east edge. In my last couple of photos, the two occupants are out of the aircraft and it is apparent that both are mobile and uninjured. The crash, which took place about three hours before I posted this comment, ended the activity I had previously been photographing.

The aircraft sustained only minor damage. The front gear tire has been replaced and N9382W is back in the air.
(My apologies for the typo in my previous comment. I accidentally reversed the "2" and the "8" in that comment.)

Another nice job of being in the right place at the right time, Gary! Well done!

"Cub" Reporter 1st byline x 5*****

Right place at the right time, Great shot!

"emerged uninjured from the crash" - "Crash" isn't exactly the correct word to describe this incident. :)

almost happened to me once when i first flew the cherokee, i mashed on those toe breaks and momentarily forgot about the hand brake. Lesson learned.