- Date
- April 30, 1999, 10:52 local (14:52 UTC)
- Place
- Manassas, VA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2338DPiper PA-38
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 23, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990430004319A
- Case key
- 46230
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 student pilot's failure to maintain the proper rate of descend on final approach followed by an improper flare which resulted on a hard landing.
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 student pilot returned from a solo training flight for landing on runway 34. Winds reported were form 070 degrees at 6 knots gusting to 14 knots. The student pilot reported that approximately 20 feet above the runway threshold, the stall warning horn sounded and the airplane struck the ground immediately, with no time to recover. He reported there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane. The student pilot reported 65 hours of total flight experience, all in make and model.
Factual narrative
On April 30, 1999, at 1052 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-38, N2338D, was substantially damaged while landing to Runway 34 at the Manassas Regional Airport (HEF), Manassas, Virginia. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the solo instructional flight that originated at HEF, about 0830. No flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot was interviewed by telephone and he provided a written statement. He said the purpose of the flight was to practice takeoffs and landings as well as some in-flight maneuvers. The pilot said he flew approximately 2.5 hours before returning to Manassas.
The pilot monitored the Automated Terminal Information Service (ATIS) while approaching the airport. He said the wind speed concerned him until he heard the tower operator report calmer winds. In a written statement, the pilot said:
"I was pleasantly surprised that the crosswind was less than I expected and with little effort I was able to crab maintaining a straight approach. At approximately 20 feet above the ground and with the airspeed at 55 knots I used left rudder to align the nose with the centerline. At that time, I heard the stall warning horn and my impulse was to add power. I'm not sure if I ever actually pushed the throttle forward or not, but before the plane could have responded anyway, it dropped straight to the ground (it felt like the bottom just dropped out), hitting extremely hard approximately 8-10 feet from the end of the runway..."
According to the pilot, the nose gear collapsed, the propeller struck the runway and the airplane skid approximately 100 feet before it stopped.
In a telephone interview, the pilot said:
"The airplane was running very smooth, no problem at all. I think it was wind shear. I'm not experienced enough to know for sure, but from what I've read, that's what it seemed like. The bottom just dropped out. The stall warning was very brief and then nothing. I was on the ground."
The pilot said the ATIS reported winds from 070 degrees at 13 knots gusting to 18 knots, and the tower reported winds from 050 at 10 knots.
At 1055, winds reported at the Manassas Regional Airport were from 070 degrees at 6 knots, gusting to 14 knots.
The student pilot reported 64 hours of total flight experience, all of which was in the PA-38.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2338D
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-79A0277
- Airframe hours
- 5,971
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Manassas Aviation Center
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 16, 1999 · 74 hours before
- Departed
- HEF
- Airport
- HEF · Manassas Airport, runway 34, 3,703 × 100 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
- 54
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 65 total · 65 in this make and model · 23 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 6 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HEF
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.