# Accident 19990912029019A: Piper PA24250, St Petersburg, FL, September 12, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 12, 1999, 13:30 local time - Place: St Petersburg, FL - Airport: Albert Whitted Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 27.7651° N, 82.6269° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at ALBERT WHITTED (SPG), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.7651&lon=-82.6269&mi=10 - Aircraft: N8051P, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8051P) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-24-250 (registry code 7102404, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-250) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA24250 - Reported engine: LYC O540A1A5 - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 395 total, 15 in this make and model, 22 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA99LA255](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA99LA255) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990912029019A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON SEPTEMBER 12, 1999, ABOUT 1327 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-24-250,N8051P, REGISTERED TO AVIATION CENTER OF TAMPA BAY INCORPORATED, VEERED OFF THE RUNWAY ON LANDING AT ALBERT WHITTED MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA, WHILE ON A TITLE 14 CFR 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, AND THE PRIVATE-RATED PILOT SUSTAINED NO INJURIES. THE ONE PASSENGER RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA, THE SAME DAY ABOUT 1200. THE PILOT STATED TO AN FAA INSPECTOR THAT UPON LANDING THE AIRPLANE WAS INITIALLY TRACKING DOWN THE RUNWAY CENTERLINE WHEN IT SUDDENLY VEERED TO THE RIGHT AT ABOUT 45-DEGREE ANGLE AND EXITED THE RUNWAY. ACCORDING TO THE FAA INSPECTOR WHO CONDUCTED THE POSTCRASH EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE, THE NOSE GEAR RIGHT DRAG LINK BROKE, CAUSING THE NOSE GEAR TO CANT AND THE AIRCRAFT TO VEER TO THE RIGHT, CROSS A GRASS MEDIAN AND TAXIWAY, COLLIDE WITH A SAND EMBANKMENT, AND COME TO REST IN A SMALL DITCH. (.4)THE PILOT STATED THAT AFTER A NORMAL LANDING THE AIRPLANE INITIALLY TRACKED THE RUNWAY CENTERLINE, BUT AT ABOUT 500 FEET IT VEERED TO THE RIGHT. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE APPLIED THE HANDBRAKE WHICH MADE THE SITUATION WORSE, AND THE AIRPLANE EXITED THE RUNWAY. A MECHANIC WHO EXAMINED THE AIRPLANE SAID THAT THE DAMAGE WAS NOT CONSISTENT WITH A HARD LANDING, BUT WITH A SUDDEN STOP. THE MECHANIC SAID THAT THE AIRPLANE'S HAND BRAKE CABLE IS CONNECTED TO THE TOE BRAKE CABLE, AND THAT WHEN THE HAND BRAKE IS APPLIED, IT LOCKS THE RUDDER PEDALS, PREVENTING THE PILOT FROM APPLYING RUDDER INPUT TO CONTROL THE AIRPLANE. THE MECHANIC SAID THE RUDDER TRIM WAS 1/3 OF THE WAY TO THE RIGHT OF CENTER, RESULTING IN THE RUDDER PEDALS BEING UNEVEN WHEN THE HANDBRAKE WAS APPLIED. THE MECHANIC SAID THAT THE PILOT TOLD HIM THAT THE LANDING WAS NORMAL, AND DURING THE ROLLOUT HE RETRACTED THE FLAPS, TURNED OFF THE BOOST PUMP, AND THEN APPLIED THE HAND BRAKE, WHEN AS A RESULT OF APPLYING THE HAND BRAKE, THE AIRPLANE VEERED OFF THE RUNWAY. THE NOSE GEAR RIGHT DRAG LINK WAS SENT TO THE NTSB'S MATERIALS LABORATORY FOR ANALYSIS, AND THE REPORT SHOWS THAT THE DRAG LINK FRACTURE SURFACES EXHIBITED A ROUGH, MATTE GRAY APPEARANCE, CONSISTENT WITH OVERSTRESS, AND THE DRAG LINK BOLT WAS BENT 13 DEGREES RELATVICE TO ITS AXIS, ALSO CONSISTENT WITH OVERSTRESS. (-23)ON SEPTEMBER 12, 1999, AT 1327 EDT, A PIPER PA-24-250, N8015P, S/N 24-3297, LANDED ON RUNWAY 6 AT ALBERT WHITTED AIRPORT (SPG). DURING THE LANDING ROLLOUT THE AIRCRAFT VEERED RIGHT ACROSS A TAXIWAY AND COLLIDED WITH A SAND EMBANKMENT, BOUNCED INTO THE ARI AND LANDED IN A SMALL DITCH. THE FLIGHT WAS A PLEASURE FLIGHT ORIGINATING AND ENDING AT SPG. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE VFR FLIGHT. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO THE PILOT WAS ONLY MINOR INJURIES TO THE PASSENGER. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB MIA99LA255](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA99LA255), Sep 12, 1999: Piper PA-24-250 (N8051P), St. Petersburg, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilots improper use of the hand brake during the landing roll out and his failure to maintain directional control, which resulted in the airplane exiting the runway and incurring substantial… ## Other reports on N8051P (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 20250115013819A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250115013819A), Jan 15, 2025: Piper PA-24-250 (N8051P), Tyler, TX, Substantial damage. On January 15, 2025, aircraft [privacy data omitted] departed runway 4 at the Tyler Pounds Regional Airport. Upon beginning a left turn in the departure phase… - [Incident 19800507051259I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19800507051259I), May 7, 1980: Piper PA24250 (N8051P), Oklawaha, FL, Minor damage. Landed without landing gear down and locked. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.