Griffing Sandusky Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sandusky, Ohio 44870
Saturday, May 24, 2008 17:55 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he and a safety pilot were on a simulated instrument flight rules cross country flight. He said that while on final the airplane "got too slow." During the flare the airplane "quit flying and dropped short" of the prepared runway surface. The pilot reported the airplane landed hard "resulting in damage to aircraft." No mechanical malfunctions were reported reference the flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot misjudging the flare and not maintaining airspeed during the landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/24/2008
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1755
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Sandusky
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 44870
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 412600N
Event Location Longitude 0823908W
Event Location Airport Griffing Sandusky
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SKY
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 1753 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID LPR
Elevation of weather observation facility 793
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.17
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KLPR 242153Z 02009KT 10SM CLR 17/06 A3017 ICAO
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) 23734
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 24 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 30 2008 11:48AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Cleveland, OH, FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N31982
NTSB Number CHI08CA140
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-34-200T
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 34-7870282
Certified Max Gross Weight 4570
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 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection May 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4848
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Givens Aviation LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Mount Washington
Aircraft Owner State KY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Barry L. Hardesty
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Taylorsville
Operator State KY
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board --
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code LOU
Departure City LOUISVILLE
Departure State KY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1530
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code SKY
Destination City Sandusky
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 23 2008 1:27PM
User who most recently changed record ntsb\eckd
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 9
Runway Length 3559
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --