- Date
- July 30, 1993, 23:30 local (Jul 31, 1993, 06:30 UTC)
- Place
- Fresno, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3053NPiper PA-28-181
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report December 3, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930730029489A
- Case key
- 27989
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 inadequate flare and his improper recovery from the resulting bounced landing. Factors related to this accident were the alternator failure and the night condition.
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 experienced an alternator failure about 10 minutes from the destination airport. The pilot was conducting an instrument flight rules personal flight during a bright night under visual meteorological conditions. The pilot requested and received radar vectors for a straight in approach to the destination airport. The airplane landed hard, and the nose gear was damaged during the second touchdown.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3053N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7990288
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Golden Enterprises, Inc., doing business as Mazze Air
- Registered owner
- Golden Enterprises, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- PDX · Portland, OR
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- FAT · Fresno Air Terminal, runway 11, 7,206 × 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
- 27
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 217 total · 64 in this make and model · 190 as pilot in command · 76 in the last 90 days · 63 in the last 30 days · 9 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 330° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FAT, 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.