Winter Haven Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Winter Haven, Florida 33881
Thursday, June 29, 2000 16:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight instructor stated that during the climbout, at about 500 feet indicated altitude, the left engine ceased operating. He said he took control of the airplane, performed the normal procedures, and flew back to the airport, making communication announcements on the frequency, 122.7. The instructor said that as he was flying the airplane, he noticed the landing gear was not coming down, so he leveled off and proceeded to pump the gear down. By the time the gear indicator lights showed three green lights, the instructor said that he had flown past the airport boundary at an altitude of 100 feet above ground level. The instructor said that he was going to try to turn around, but decided to proceed straight ahead and land in an orange grove, since the airplane was not climbing at Vyse. A certified FAA mechanic with inspection authorization examined the left engine, and did not find any mechanical failure or malfunction with the engine.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the flight instructor's failure to follow procedures/directives and his misjudgment of distance/altitude following a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, which resulted in the proper touchdown point not being attained, an off airport landing being affected, and substantial damage to the aircraft during the emergency landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/29/2000
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City WINTER HAVEN
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33881
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport WINTER HAVEN AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID GIF
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 2
Degrees magnetic from airport 360
Airport Elevation 146
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1653 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID GIF
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 24
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 1500
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 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1129
NTSB Notification Source FAA Atlanta Comm. Center
NTSB Notification Date Jun 29 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1720
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jul 10 2001 4:37PM
User who most recently changed record MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3317P
NTSB Number MIA00LA193
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-23-160
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-23-160
Aircraft Serial Number 23-1268
Certified Max Gross Weight 3800
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 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 1 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 22
Airframe Hours 2345
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BRITANNIA FLIGHT CENTER INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3082 21ST STREET NW
Aircraft Owner City WINTER HAVEN
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33881
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 GIF
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1600
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 --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2001 4:09AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 4
Runway Length 5006
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --