Lakeland Linder Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lakeland, Florida 33811
Thursday, April 19, 2007 19:35 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

As the pilot flared for landing, the setting sun "got into [his] eyes," and he misjudged the airplane's height above the runway. He flared "too high," the airplane "stalled," rolled to the right, and impacted a ditch that was parallel to the runway. The pilot reported he could have prevented the accident by increasing his approach to landing speed and initiating the flare closer to the ground.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper flare and failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in a stall and subsequent loss of control. A factor was the sun glare.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/19/2007
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1935
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Lakeland
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33811
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 275920N
Event Location Longitude 0820106W
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 --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 142
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1953 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID LAL
Elevation of weather observation facility 142
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Dusk
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 30
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.81
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency --
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21720
NTSB Notification Source SERA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 27 2007 1:15PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N11798
NTSB Number NYC07CA099
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 Monocoupe Aircraft
Aircraft Model 90A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number A-722
Certified Max Gross Weight 1610
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1060
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Daniel Sommer
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Ocala
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 34471
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 OCF
Departure City Ocala
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1820
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code LAL
Destination City Lakeland
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 30 2007 3:27PM
User who most recently changed record MUZD
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 8500
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --