- Date
- November 13, 1994, 15:39 local (20:39 UTC)
- Place
- Orange, MA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N337RLLee Pazmany PL-4A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 26, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19941113045329A
- Case key
- 38899
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 flare which resulted in a hard landing, collapse of the main gear, and inflight collision with the ground.
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 attempting to land on the grass beside runway 01. The airplane landed hard, bounced, collapsed the main landing gear, impacted the ground nose first. The pilot was injured during the impact sequence when his head struck the canopy. According to the FAA, rescue personnel, reported that when they arrived at the crash site, the pilot was not buckled to the seat, and was sitting on the seat belts.
Factual narrative
On November 13, 1994, at 1539 eastern standard time, a Pazmany PL-4A, N337RL, an experimental airplane, owned and piloted by Robert W. Lee, was substantially damaged during a landing at the Orange Airport, Orange, Massachusetts. The pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight was operated under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot was attempting to land on the grass beside Runway 01. The airplane landed hard, bounced, collapsed the main landing gear, and impacted the ground nose first. The pilot was injured during the impact sequence when his head struck the canopy.
According to the FAA, rescue personnel, reported that when they arrived at the crash site, the pilot was not buckled to the seat, and was sitting on the seat belts. The pilot survived the accident but died of his injuries on November 19, 1994.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N337RL
- Reported as
- Lee Pazmany PL-4A (PAZMANY PL)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 573
- Airframe hours
- 2
- Engine
- Continental A75-8, 75 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert Lee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport
- ORE · Orange Municipal, runway 1, 5,000 × 150 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
- 71
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 650 total · 2 in this make and model · 2 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.