- Date
- March 16, 2021, 10:40 local (14:40 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Pierce, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N562PUPiper PA-28-161
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20210316006109A
- Case key
- 102887
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 flight instructor’s delayed remedial action and failure to maintain directional control during a crosswind landing, which resulted in a runway excursion.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The student pilot was flying with the flight instructor to practice unassisted landings for the first time. The flight instructor stated that due to the gusting right crosswind, the approaches were bumpy, and the airspeed fluctuated. During the third landing of the flight, on the final approach, the airplane began to drift to the right of the runway centerline. The airplane’s nose veered right when the student pilot flared and although the flight instructor attempted to recover, the airplane had insufficient airspeed and sank toward the runway. Upon landing, the airplane travelled to the right, departed the runway, and impacted runway signage. The right main landing gear assembly separated from the airplane upon impact with runway signage, and the airplane pivoted on the right wing before coming to rest in the grass. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuselage sustained substantial damage. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and that she should have instructed the student to perform a go-around procedure when the approach became unstable. The recorded wind at the time of the accident was a direct right crosswind at 8 knots and did not reference gusting.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N562PU
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-161
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2842104
- Built
- 2000
- Airframe hours
- 11,641.5
- Engine
- Lycoming O320-D3G, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Flightsafety International Inc
- Registered owner
- Flightsafety International Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · March 4, 2021 · 13.3 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- FPR · Treasure Coast Intl, runway 10L/28R, 4,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, ADS-B
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 22
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 15, 2020
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 594 total · 470 in this make and model · 512 as pilot in command · 88 in the last 90 days · 27 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 18
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 18 total · 18 in this make and model · 18 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- FPR
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 30, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.8 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.