Albert Whitted Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
Friday, November 20, 1998 10:45 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight was under a special VFR request en route to St. Petersburg. According to the pilot, as he began to flare the airplane the plane dropped as if a strong downdraft hit. The reported winds and visibility at the airport about the time of the accident was reported as: winds from 140 degrees at 5 knots, and the visibility was 1 3/4 sm, with haze. The accident was not reported immediately after it had occurred, about 1 week later an FAA inspector was doing a surveillance at an FBO (fixed base operator) and noticed N8620T with it's nose gear 'severely bent aft.' When the inspector examined the wreckage it was determined that the airplane had sustained substantial damage. According to the FAA's report, '[the] pilot had a hard landing causing substantial damage to the aircraft structure.'

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot misjudged the flare, resulting in a hard land and subsequent damage to the airplane.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/20/1998
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1045
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City ST. PETERSBURG
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33701
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ALBERT WHITTED
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SPG
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 7
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 953 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID SPG
Elevation of weather observation facility 7
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 1.75
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
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) 892
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1164
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Nov 25 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1115
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:53AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8620T
NTSB Number MIA99LA035
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 182C
Aircraft Series Identifier 182C
Aircraft Serial Number 52520
Certified Max Gross Weight 2650
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 56
Airframe Hours 2336
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JOHN C. GREENLAW
Aircraft Owner Street Address 607 UPPER MANATEE RIVER RD.
Aircraft Owner City BRADENTON
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 34202
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board Unknown
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 48X
Departure City PALMETTO
Departure State FL
Departure Country
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:53AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 2864
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --