- Date
- July 16, 2003, 13:05 local (17:05 UTC)
- Place
- Port Huron, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5359JPiper PA-34-220T
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 2, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA-Detroit-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030716018829A
- Case key
- 57795
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 misjudging the flare during landing, and his inadequate remedial action resulting in the inadvertent porpoise of the airplane.
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 airplane was damaged during a hard landing on runway 28. The pilot reported that the landing approach was normal. He reported that at touchdown on the main landing gear, wind gusts changed and caused the airplane to bounce off of the nose gear. The pilot attempted to settle the airplane back on the main gear, but it bounced higher and continued bouncing at least three more times veering to the left and in the grass. The weather reporting station located at the accident airport recorded the wind as 330 degrees at 6 knots. No gusts were recorded.
Factual narrative
On July 16, 2003, about 1305 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-34-220T, N5359J, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged during a hard landing on runway 28 (4,001 feet by 75 feet, asphalt), at the St. Clair County International Airport (PHN), near Port Huron, Michigan. The 14 CFR part 91 business flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions. The pilot was not injured. The flight originated from the Flying Cloud Airport, Minneapolis, Minnesota, at 0915.
In a written statement, the pilot stated that he made a normal left-downwind approach for runway 28 at PHN. He indicated that all airspeeds on downwind, base, and final were normal. At touchdown of the main landing gear, wind gusts changed and caused the airplane to bounce off of the nose gear. The pilot attempted to settle the airplane back on the main gear, but it bounced higher and continued bouncing at least three more times veering to the left and in the grass. The airplane then continued to roll back to runway 28 and eventually came to a stop at the run-up area of runway 10.
The recorded weather at PHN at 1316 was:
Winds: 330 degrees at 6 knots
Visibility: 10 statue miles
Sky condition: clear
Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius
Dew Point: 16 degrees Celsius
Altimeter: 30.06 inches of mercury
The pilot reported having autopilot altitude hold problems during the en route portion of the flight. However, he reported no anomalies with the primary flight controls.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5359J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-34-220T
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 3449267
- Airframe hours
- 170
- Engines
- Teledyne Continental TSIO-360-RB, 220 horsepower, reciprocatingTeledyne Continental LTSIO-360-RB, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- A & K Equipment Co., Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 2002 · 170 hours before
- Departed
- FCM · Minneapolis, MN
- Destination
- PHN · Port Huron, MI
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- PHN · St Clair County Intl, runway 28, 4,001 × 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
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- November 14, 2003
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 976 total · 280 in this make and model · 750 as pilot in command · 38 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- PHN, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.