Tampa International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tampa, Florida 33607
Monday, October 27, 1997 15:10 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight had departed runway 32, under IFR, from a local reliever airport 35 miles south of the destination, and was cleared to intercept the ILS approach for runway 36R. Instrument meteorological conditions existed with a low scattered cloud layer beneath the 900 foot broken clouds. Visibility was 8 miles. The flight never stabilized on the inbound course and glide slope. After acquiring the runway visually, about 3 miles from the airport, the airplane dove for the runway, subsequently touching down with the landing gear retracted. The left propeller incurred greater damage than the right propeller. The airplane began to go around, pitched up, then entered a steep left, descending turn that continued until impact with the ground.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to follow the landing checklist and extend the landing gear for landing, and his failure to maintain VMC during a go-around. Factors were: the pilot's diverted attention due to a non-stabilized instrument approach and his lack of recent instrument experience.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/27/1997
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1510
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City TAMPA
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33607
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport TAMPA INTERNATIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID TPA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 360
Airport Elevation 27
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1520 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID TPA
Elevation of weather observation facility 27
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 900
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 1100
Intensity of Precipitation Light
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 3
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1354
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 27 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1528
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:36PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N69293
NTSB Number ATL98FA008
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion Ground
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 402B
Aircraft Series Identifier 402B
Aircraft Serial Number 402B-0415
Certified Max Gross Weight 6300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 7
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 16 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 6
Airframe Hours 3622
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name COVINGTON FOODS INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address POB 206 316 2ND ST.
Aircraft Owner City COVINGTON
Aircraft Owner State IN
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 47932
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name DONALD A. CLARK
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address POB 206
Operator City COVINGTON
Operator State IN
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 47932
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SRQ
Departure City SARASOTA
Departure State FL
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code TPA
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36R
Runway Length 8000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --