# NTSB NYC99LA238: Beech F33A, N100LK, Wildwood, NJ, September 24, 1999 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 24, 1999, 12:00 local (16:00 UTC) - Place: Wildwood, NJ - Location: 39.0084° N, 74.9085° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at CAPE MAY COUNTY (WWD), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.0084&lon=-74.9085&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report August 13, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 47469 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=NYC99LA238 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/47469/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC99LA238 ## Probable cause The pilot's improper recover from a bounced landing. A factor related to the accident was the pilot's diverted attention due to the loss of a spouse. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - recovery from bounced landing - improper, pilot in command (cause) - diverted attention, pilot in command (contributing factor) - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll ## Analysis The airplane departed using the entire runway and returned to land. The airplane touched down about mid-field on the runway, then began to bounce several times for the whole length of the runway before gaining a positive climb rate. The airplane continued around the pattern for a second approach, touched down again about mid-field, and began to bounce several times, before it continued off the end of the runway. A day after the accident the pilot explained that 'he had lost his wife last week who he had been with since 1934.' He additionally stated that 'people make too many excuses today for their actions, and this accident was just plain and simply his fault.' The pilot had accumulated a total experience of about 16,000 flight hours. He had flown a total of 73 hours in the F33A, 6 hours of which were in the last 90 days. ## Factual narrative On September 24, 1999, about 1200 Eastern Daylight Time, a Beech F33A, N100LK, was substantially damaged while landing at the Cape May County Airport, Wildwood, New Jersey. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to airport personnel, the airplane taxied to Runway 19, a 4,998 foot long asphalt runway, for departure. The airplane then departed unannounced, using the entire available runway, "barely" clearing the threshold lights located at the departure end of the runway. Airport personnel made repeated calls to the airplane on the UNICOM frequency to ask if there were any problems, but there were no replies. The airplane entered a "short pattern", returned to land, and touched down about mid-field on the runway. The airplane then began to bounce several times for the whole length of the runway before it gained a positive climb rate, and reentered the pattern. The airplane returned to land, and touched down about mid-field. It began to bounce several times again, before it struck the threshold lights, continued into an embankment, and sheared the nose gear off. The airplane came to rest upright in a grass field, about 460 feet from the departure end of the runway. A day after the accident, the pilot talked with airport personnel explaining that "he had lost his wife last week who he had been with since 1934." He additionally stated that "people make too many excuses today for their actions, and this accident was just plain and simply his fault." According to the pilot in a written statement, as the airplane touched down on the first landing, the engine would not throttle back. A go-around was initiated and the airplane was flown back to the runway for a planned "short landing." While landing for the second time, the pilot was able to throttle the engine back, "but insufficient to control [the] airplane to make a complete stop." The pilot had accumulated a total experience of about 16,000 flight hours. He had flown a total of 73 hours in the F33A, 6 hours of which were in the last 90 days. The owner of a repair facility in Hagerstown, Maryland, that worked on the airplane after the accident stated that the throttle lever connected to the throttle body was restricted in movement by a piece of the fuselage pushed near it during the accident. The fuselage was pulled away from the throttle lever and tagged with an Aircraft Condition Notice. A FAA Inspector examined the airplane in November 1999. He checked the throttle cable and the fuel injector throttle arm for freedom of movement throughout the operating range. No discrepancies were noted. Inspection of the wreckage in Hagerstown on December 7, 1999, by a Safety Board Investigator, revealed that the throttle moved freely with no noticeable friction. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N100LK](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N100LK), registered now, S/N CE-686, built 1977 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Beech F33A - Registry model: [Beech F33A](https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-f33a) (registry code 1151425) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 686 - Airframe hours: 1612 - Engines: Continental 10-550-B4F 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Lorraine King - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, March 4, 1999, 86 hours before - Departed: WWD - Airport: WWD, Cape May County Airport, runway 19, 4,998 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 80; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 15,821 total, 73 in this make and model, 13,000 as pilot in command, 6 in the last 90 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 14 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 54 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: WWD, 1 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19990924040279A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990924040279A), Sep 24, 1999: Beech F33A, Wildwood, NJ, No damage. (-23) Took off runway 19 and circled to land. Attempted to land and upon contact with ground, engine would not throttle back. Initiated go around and landed… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.