- Date
- November 3, 1997, 13:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Clarksville, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4502XPiper PA-28-151
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 6, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19971103040809A
- Case key
- 38433
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
the pilot's improper flare and touchdown.
Analysis
The pilot was faced with a 15 knot, occasionally gusting to 25 knots, crosswind to the single runway 1/19. The pilot's initial attempt to land runway 19 was aborted in favor of runway 1. Her approach to runway 1 resulted in a touchdown close to midfield in a nose down attitude that caused the nose wheel and propeller blade to strike the runway before the main wheels. The airplane came to rest within 50 to 75 feet of runway travel, bending a propeller blade, collapsing the nose landing gear and shedding the left main landing gear in the process.
Factual narrative
On November 3, 1997, about 1300 central standard time, a Piper PA-28-151, N4502X, registered to a private owner, operating as a 14 CFR 91 personal flight experienced a hard landing at Steep Head Farm Airstrip, Clarksville, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot was not injured, and the private-rated passenger sustained serious injuries. The flight originated from Marianna, Florida, about 30 minutes before the accident.
The pilot stated that about 1000, she and her passenger departed Steep Head Farm Airstrip, flew to Marianna Municipal Airport where they each completed two or three touch-and-go landings to runway 26, and flew a circuituitous route back to Clarksville.
Upon their return to Clarksville, the pilot attempted a landing to runway 19, but abandoned the approach and elected to land runway 01. The airplane landed hard halfway down the runway. On touchdown the nose gear collapsed, one propeller blade contacted the runway, the left main gear separated, and the airplane skidded to a stop. Total landing rollout was estimated to be 50 to 75 feet. The pilot said the throttle and mixture control stuck.
According to FAA records, an A&P mechanic inspected the airplane after the accident and stated the throttle and mixture control worked free and clear for their full range of travel.
The recorded winds at Tallahassee at 1052 were 260 degrees, 12 knots, gusting to 20 knots. The recorded winds at Tallahassee at 1252 were 270 degrees, 15 knots, gusting to 22 knots.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4502X
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-151
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7615021
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Karin Christine Koll
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 1996 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- MAI · Marianna, FL
- Destination
- FL15 · FL
- Airport
- FL15 · Steep Head Farm, runway 1, 2,500 × 140 ft, grass/turf
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Invalid Medical for flight
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 186 total · 50 in this make and model · 86 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 15 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TLH, 50 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.