St. Augustine Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St. Augustine, Florida 32095
Saturday, September 5, 1998 13:57 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight instructor stated they performed a go-around because they did not know if the landing gear was extended. The aircraft climbed initially, rolled to the left and descended, striking the ground left wing tip and nose first. Examination of the runway showed slash marks caused by the propellers of the aircraft. Examination of the aircraft showed the landing gear handle was in the up position and the left propeller was curled over about two thirds of the blade length. The right propeller was curled over about one third of the blade length.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the flight instructor and dual student to ensure the landing gear was extended for landing and their attempted go-around after the aircraft and propellers contacted the runway. This resulted in loss of directional control during the go-around due to propeller damage and subsequent impact with the ground.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/5/1998
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1357
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City ST. AUGUSTINE
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32095
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ST. AUGUSTINE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SGJ
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 11
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1335 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 130
Weather Observation Facility ID SGJ
Elevation of weather observation facility 11
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 24
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 70
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 1600
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) 827
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 5 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1430
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:46AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N40805
NTSB Number MIA98LA238
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-34-200
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-34-200
Aircraft Serial Number 34-7450081
Certified Max Gross Weight 4200
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 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jul 15 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 77
Airframe Hours 7228
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name FLORIDA AVIATION CAREER TRNG.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4900 US 1 NORTH
Aircraft Owner City ST. AUGUSTINE
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32095
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code SGJ
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1250
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
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 Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 13
Runway Length 6939
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --