- Date
- December 20, 1992, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Oxford, CT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5135LPiper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 14, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921220000359A
- Case key
- 37288
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 level off which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing were wind gusts and the pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions.
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 was on final approach to runway 31. The automated weather observing system (AWOS) reported winds from 300 degrees at 15 knots gusting to 20 knots. The airplane lost altitude and landed hard on the runway. The pilot attempted a recovery by applying power. The airplane started to porpoise, the nose gear collapsed, the propeller struck the ground and the airplane veered off the runway onto the grass.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5135L
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- PA-28-4418
- Airframe hours
- 4,724
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Frank A. Rinaldi
- Registered owner
- Frank A. Rinaldi
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 1, 1992 · 41 hours before
- Departed
- OXC
- Destination
- OXC
- Airport
- OXC · Waterbury-Oxford, runway 31, 1,999 × 75 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
- 69
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,006 total · 206 in this make and model · 907 as pilot in command · 27 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 17 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 41 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Observed at
- BDR, 20 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.