- Date
- August 27, 1998, 23:15 local (Aug 28, 1998, 03:15 UTC)
- Place
- Opa Locka, FL
- Injuries
- 6 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N44295Piper PA-32-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980827040009A
- Case key
- 44100
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 improper remedial action in recovering from a bounced landing resulting in a stall, and his incorrect recovery from a pilot induced oscillation (PIO) condition. A factor was the pilot's failure to execute a timely go-around maneuver.
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 pilot bounced on his initial touchdown. He attempted to correct with the application and then reduction of power during which the aircraft entered a nose high attitude and stalled. The aircraft then touched down hard a second time and began porpoising during which the nose landing gear collapsed and the aircraft skidded off the runway.
Factual narrative
On August 27, 1998, about 2315 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32-300, N44295, registered to Caribbean Aviation, LC, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed while landing at Opa Locka Airport, Miami, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the private-rated pilot and four passengers were not injured. The flight originated from Key West International Airport about 50 minutes before the accident.
According to the pilot's statement, his landing flare resulted in a hard touchdown and resultant bounce. At some point in that first bounce, he added and then reduced power for a second flare, but his compensation for a wind gust was inadequate, and the nose attitude became too high. The airplane stalled, sustained a second hard touchdown and started porpoising. The porpoising continued until the nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane skidded off the runway.
The occurrence was upgraded from incident status with minor damage to substantial damage on October 2, 1998, when Miami FSDO notified NTSB that closer inspection revealed wing spar damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N44295
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-7440149
- Airframe hours
- 2,884
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1A5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Manuel Garrito
- Registered owner
- Caribbean Aviation Lc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 8, 1998 · 78 hours before
- Departed
- EYW · Key West, FL
- Destination
- OPF
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- OPF · Opalocka International, runway 9L, 8,000 × 150 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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 337 total · 45 in this make and model · 289 as pilot in command · 39 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 110° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 81 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- OPF
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N44295 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.