- Date
- December 8, 2007, 17:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Tallahassee, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N5921DPiper PA-22-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 31, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- Case key
- 67222
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 misjudged clearance over obstacles during final approach.
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, age 85, was attempting to land a Piper PA-22-150 at his private airstrip. While on final approach for the 1,500-foot-long turf strip, the airplane contacted trees, then utility wires, and came to rest upright. The reported weather about the time of the accident included calm winds, a broken ceiling at 9,000 feet, and visibility 10 miles. The pilot reported a total flight experience of 2,319 hours; of which, most was in the same make and model as the accident airplane. In addition, the pilot flew the accident airplane about 17 hours during the 90-day period preceding the accident. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the pilot report any.
Factual narrative
The pilot, age 85, was attempting to land a Piper PA-22-150 at his private airstrip. While on final approach for the 1,500-foot-long turf strip, the airplane contacted trees, then utility wires, and came to rest upright. During the impact, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, and the pilot incurred minor injuries. The reported weather at an airport located approximately 19 miles west of the accident site, about the time of the accident, included calm winds, a broken ceiling at 9,000 feet, and visibility 10 miles. The pilot reported a total flight experience of 2,319 hours; of which, most was in the same make and model as the accident airplane. In addition, the pilot flew the accident airplane about 17 hours during the 90-day period preceding the accident. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the pilot report any.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5921D
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-4583
- Airframe hours
- 3,861
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Willis O Forman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 2007 · 7 hours before
- Departed
- 2J9 · Quincy, FL
- Destination
- NONE · Tallahassee, FL
- Airport
- NONE · Private Airstrip, runway 12, 1,500 × 75 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
- 85
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2006
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,319 total · 2,313 in this make and model · 2,072 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.27 inHg
- Observed at
- TLH, 19 nm away