Leesburg Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Leesburg, Florida 32749
Friday, May 4, 2007 12:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The certified flight instructor (CFI) was providing flight instruction to the private pilot, who was training for a commercial pilot certificate. The airplane was in the traffic pattern, abeam the runway, when the flight instructor reduced the engine power, and asked the private pilot to demonstrate a power off, 180-degree accuracy landing. The CFI verbally coached the private pilot throughout the approach, and reminded him to watch the airspeed, which was 3 knots slow. The CFI reported that when the airplane was about 100 feet above the ground, the private pilot increased the flaps from 10 to 25 degrees, and pitched the nose up. The airspeed degraded, and the airplane subsequently landed hard, and sustained wing spar damage. The flight instructor had accumulated about 800 hours of total flight experience. The private pilot had accumulated about 190 hours of total flight experience.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The flight instructor's failure to take remedial action, and the private pilot's failure to maintain proper airspeed, which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/4/2007
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1200
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Leesburg
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32749
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 284923N
Event Location Longitude 0814831W
Event Location Airport Leesburg
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LEE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 76
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1153 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID LEE
Elevation of weather observation facility 76
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
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) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 21754
NTSB Notification Source FAA SROC
NTSB Notification Date May 5 2007 12:00AM
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 Orlando

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N809MS
NTSB Number NYC07CA108
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 Piper
Aircraft Model PA28R-201
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2837018
Certified Max Gross Weight 2750
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 45
Airframe Hours 11565
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name VMC Aircraft Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Port Orange
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32128
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Delta Connection Academy
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Sanford
Operator State FL
Operator Country USA
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SFB
Departure City Sanford
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code LEE
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 16 2007 10:48AM
User who most recently changed record MUZD
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 13
Runway Length 5000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --