Homestead General Av. Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Homestead, Florida 33187
Wednesday, July 1, 1998 11:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, he entered a left downwind for runway 36. He touched down hard on the first landing, and the airplane bounced into the air. The pilot then pulled back on the controls, and the airplane sank, collided with the runway, and bounced a second time. The nose gear collapsed, and the propeller struck the ground on the second bounce. The airplane touched down for a third time and veered off the left side of the runway. According to the FAA, the airplane had wing damage and cracked engine mounts. The inspector stated the airplane made too steep of an approach which led him to begin bouncing down the runway. The pilot had 37 hours of total flying time.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper flare that resulted in a hard landing and porpoise, and his improper recovery from the bounced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/1/1998
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City HOMESTEAD
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33187
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport HOMESTEAD GENERAL AV.
Event Location Nearest Airport ID X51
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 180
Airport Elevation 9
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1156 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 20
Weather Observation Facility ID MIA
Elevation of weather observation facility 11
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 18000
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 33
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 24
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 2000
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 208
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 1 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1740
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4331M
NTSB Number ATL98LA089
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-161
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-28-161
Aircraft Serial Number 28-8416028
Certified Max Gross Weight 2325
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Apr 18 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 6637
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT CENTER
Aircraft Owner Street Address 15492 SW 29TH STREET
Aircraft Owner City MIAMI
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33186
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code TMB
Departure City TAMIAMI
Departure State FL
Departure Country
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code X51
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 36
Runway Length 4909
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --