- Date
- April 4, 1987, 12:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lebanon, TN
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4974JPiper PA-28R-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 10, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870404012179A
- Case key
- 7405
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 plt reported that he made a VFR pattern for landing on rwy 18 at his destination. The wind was 'hard' and 'straight down the rwy.' He reported that, 'all of a sudden it seemed as though the wind quit and the airplane started to fall.' The acft hit hard short of the rwy, bounced, struck a VASI light, crossed a ditch, a taxiway and came to rest in a ditch on the south side of the taxiway. This accident was not reported until 9 days later.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4974J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R-30726
- Airframe hours
- 2,839
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-B1E, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Hester Aircraft Service
- Registered owner
- Harry L Hester
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 20, 1987 · 35 hours before
- Departed
- SRB · Sparta, TN
- Airport
- M54 · Lebanon Municipal, runway 36, 3,500 × 75 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
- 52
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 604 total · 25 in this make and model · 538 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 30 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N4974J · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.