Orlando Apopka Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Apopka, Florida 32712
Monday, February 25, 2008 12:15 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot of the Piper PA 32-300, the purpose of the flight was to deliver the airplane to the new owner. While on the final leg of the approach, "everything was normal and the approach was stable." As the airplane approached the runway he saw yellow water filled barrels, depicting the displaced threshold. Assuming he would clear the barrels, he began to focus on the runway, failing to maintain an adequate flight path and clearance with the barrels. As a result, the left main geared struck one of the barrels and "sheared it off," causing substantial damage to the left wing and left horizontal stabilizer. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions with the airplane prior to impact.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance/altitude while on the final leg of the approach.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/25/2008
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1215
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Apopka
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 32712
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 284213N
Event Location Longitude 0813432W
Event Location Airport Orlando Apopka Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID X04
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 --
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) 306
Weather Observation Facility ID ORL
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 16
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.07
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23506
NTSB Notification Source ORLANDO FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Mar 10 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2008 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Orlando FAA/FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N812WM
NTSB Number NYC08CA128
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 Piper
Aircraft Model PA 32-300
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 327740076
Certified Max Gross Weight 3400
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 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4752.8
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Walter S. Boyer
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Bradenton
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32411
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 BOW
Departure City Bartow
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1145
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code X04
Destination City Apopka
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 Apr 16 2008 9:44AM
User who most recently changed record grer
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 33
Runway Length 2611
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --