- Date
- August 30, 2012, 15:45 local (22:45 UTC)
- Place
- Wickenburg, AZ
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N309PAPiper PA-28-181
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 5, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20120830021379I
- Case key
- 84878
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 flight instructor’s delayed response in correcting the student pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The flight instructor said that during a landing, the student pilot flared too high and that he then took over control of the airplane. The airplane landed hard, and the tail tie-down hook struck the runway and was displaced into the fuselage, substantially damaging the aft bulkhead. Although the instructor conducted a postflight inspection of the airplane, the damage was not discovered at the time. When the flight instructor performed the next takeoff, he noticed that the elevator flight control was sluggish and minimally responsive, and the airplane’s climb performance was poor. The flight instructor landed the airplane without further incident. The damage was discovered during a subsequent inspection. The flight instructor reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have affected normal operation.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor said that during a landing, the student pilot flared too high, and he took control of the airplane. The airplane landed hard, and the tail tie down hook was displaced into the fuselage. Although the instructor conducted a post flight inspection of the airplane, the damage was not discovered. The flight instructor performed the next takeoff, and he noticed that the elevator flight control was sluggish and minimally responsive. Additionally, the climb performance was poor. He landed the airplane without further incident. Another inspection of the airplane was performed, and the damage was discovered.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N309PA
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2843508
- Airframe hours
- 12,276
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360 SERIES, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Transpac Aviation Academy
- Registered owner
- Bird Acquisition LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · August 26, 2012
- Departed
- E63 · Gila Bend, AZ
- Destination
- E25 · Wickenburg, AZ
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
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 10, 2012
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 920 total · 526 in this make and model · 217 in the last 90 days · 73 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 95 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.73 inHg
- Observed at
- E25
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 14, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 687 KB in all.
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 N309PA · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.