Lakeland Linder Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lakeland, Florida 33811
Thursday, April 15, 2004 12:31 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated he was flying the airplane from the backseat. The control tower operator told them to land mid-field. He came down on final at 80 knots and flew in ground effect until approximately the mid-field point. He retarded the throttle to idle and the airplane settled nicely to the runway. The airplane rose back into the air slightly and he held the control stick all the way aft. The airplane settled again very smoothly then the tail rose up and the nose lurched to the right. The tail came back down and he was holding left rudder to correct the direction. The tail came up again and the nose lurched to the right again. The airplane them began hopping sideways before it left the runway and the left landing gear collapsed. Postaccident examination of the accident site by NTSB and FAA Investigators showed the airplane had departed the right side of runway 27 Left, coming to rest nose down in the grass between taxiways A3 and A4. Marks from the left and right main landing gear tires were visible on the runway until the airplane departed the runway surface. The left landing gear had collapsed when the landing gear strut failed in overload at the time the gear made contact with the soft dirt at the edge of the runway. The left wing had contacted the ground and was bent up at the outboard 4 feet. After recovery of the airplane from the runway NTSB and FAA Investigators examined the landing gear, tires, and brakes. The left and right main landing gear tires had no worn or scuff spots on them. The left and right main landing gear brakes operated normally. The tail landing gear was rotated 90 degrees to the normal position after the accident, but the gear rotated freely back to the normal position and locked in the detent. The owner of the airplane stated after the accident that he previously had a brake malfunction with the accident airplane, but he repaired the brakes and had not had a reoccurence of the brake problem. He stated that after the accident he performed a temporary repair to the left wing of the airplane and after receiving an FAA ferry permit, ferried the airplane to his home airport. He stated that during the ferry flight he experienced no evidence of failure or malfunction of the wheel brakes or any other components of the airplane. He stated that the SNJ airplane is normally flown from the front seat and that it is harder to land from the rear seat.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll resulting in the airplane departing the right side of the runway, collapsing the left main landing gear, the left wing striking the ground, and the airplane nosing down.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/15/2004
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1231
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Lakeland
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33811
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 275920N
Event Location Longitude 0820107W
Event Location Airport Lakeland Linder Regional
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LAL
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.5
Degrees magnetic from airport 270
Airport Elevation 142
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1231 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID LAL
Elevation of weather observation facility 142
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 20
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.18
Density Altitude (feet) 500
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15737
NTSB Notification Source City of Lakeland Fire Departme
NTSB Notification Date Apr 15 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1232
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 30 2004 12:15PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Orlando

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N31443
NTSB Number MIA04LA072
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name North American
Aircraft Model SNJ-5B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 91044
Certified Max Gross Weight 5300
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 4 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 45
Airframe Hours 6000
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Classic Air, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1313 N Market Street
Aircraft Owner City Wilmington
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19801
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 24J
Departure City Live Oak
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Lakeland
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Apr 27 2004 9:39AM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27L
Runway Length 8500
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --