Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Albert Whitted Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
St. Petersburg, Florida 33731
Sunday, September 12, 1999 13:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that after a normal landing the airplane initially tracked the runway centerline, but at about 500 feet it veered to the right. The pilot stated that he applied the handbrake which made the situation worse, and the airplane exited the runway. A mechanic who examined the airplane said that the damage was not consistent with a hard landing, but with a sudden stop. The mechanic said that the airplane's hand brake cable is connected to the toe brake cable, and that when the hand brake is applied, it locks the rudder pedals, preventing the pilot from applying rudder input to control the airplane. The mechanic said the rudder trim was 1/3 of the way to the right of center, resulting in the rudder pedals being uneven when the handbrake was applied. The mechanic said that the pilot told him that the landing was normal, and during the rollout he retracted the flaps, turned off the boost pump, and then applied the hand brake, when as a result of applying the hand brake, the airplane veered off the runway. The nose gear right drag link was sent to the NTSB's Materials Laboratory for analysis, and the report shows that the drag link fracture surfaces exhibited a rough, matte gray appearance, consistent with overstress, and the drag link bolt was bent 13 degrees relative to its axis, also consistent with overstress.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilots improper use of the hand brake during the landing roll out and his failure to maintain directional control, which resulted in the airplane exiting the runway and incurring substantial damage.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/12/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1330 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | ST. PETERSBURG |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 33731 |
| Event Date Year | 1999 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | ALBERT WHITTED MUNICIPAL |
| 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 | 10 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1253 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SPG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 8 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 30 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 25 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 90 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1700 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1295 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 12 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1427 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 13 2001 11:19AM |
| User who most recently changed record | MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8051P |
| NTSB Number | MIA99LA255 |
| 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-24-250 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-24-250 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 24-3297 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2900 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 22 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 15 |
| Airframe Hours | 4015 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | AVIATION CENTER OF TAMPA BAY |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. BOX 232 |
| Aircraft Owner City | ST. PETERSBURG |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33731 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | CTY |
| Departure City | CROSS CITY |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1230 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | SPG |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 6 |
| Runway Length | 3677 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |