- Date
- September 9, 2001, 09:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Punta Gorda, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4070EAeronca 11AC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20010909038689A
- Case key
- 53552
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's improper flare which resulted in a hard landing and subsequent collapse of the landing gear..
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot had been conducting touch-and-go landings on runway 15 at the airport. On the fifth landing, the pilot stated everything seemed normal, but, upon touchdown, the airplane "suddenly lurched over" to the left and skidded off to the left side of the runway. Examination of the airplane found the left main landing gear separated, and the left wing tip bent. The propeller and stringers in the lower fuselage also sustained damage. The pilot's seat pan was found collapsed. Examination of the airplane failed to disclose a mechanical malfunction or component failure.
Factual narrative
On September 9, 2001, about 0930 eastern daylight time, an Aeronca 11AC, N4070E, registered to E-Z Flying Club of Wilmington, Delaware, landed hard and collapsed the left main landing gear during a landing at Charlotte County Airport in Punta Gorda, Florida. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the private pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight had initially departed Charlotte County Airport, in Punta Gorda, Florida, at 0900.
The pilot had been conducting touch-and-go landings on runway 15 at the airport. On the fifth landing, the pilot stated everything seemed normal, but, upon touchdown, the airplane "suddenly lurched over" to the left and skidded off to the left side of the runway.
Examination of the airplane found the left main landing gear separated, and the left wing tip was bent. The propeller blades were bent, and stringers in the lower fuselage also sustained damage. The pilot's seat pan was found collapsed. Examination of the airplane failed to disclose a mechanical malfunction or component failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4070E
- Reported as
- Aeronca 11AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 11BC-158
- Airframe hours
- 1,670
- Engine
- Continental A-65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 3, 2000 · 388 hours before
- Departed
- PGA · Punta Gorda, FL
- Destination
- PGA · Punta Gorda, FL
- Airport
- KPGA · Charlotte County Airport, runway 15, 4,743 × 150 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 70
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- May 8, 2000
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 634 total · 61 in this make and model · 6 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.19 inHg
- Observed at
- KPGD
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.