Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Peter O'knight Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Tampa, Florida 33622
Saturday, April 11, 2009 17:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Prior to departing on the cross-country flight, the pilot received a jump-start for his amphibious airplane due to a dead battery. The pilot then immediately taxied to the runway and departed. Once airborne, he moved the landing gear handle to the "Up" position, but did not confirm that the gear had successfully retracted. He climbed to 300 feet above mean sea level (msl) before turning and descending over the water to 120 feet msl, with the intention of making a low pass in front of his waterfront home. The airplane encountered "a gust of wind," and lost approximately 40 feet of altitude. The pilot decided to abort the low pass, and advanced the throttle to full power. He was not satisfied with the response of the engine and decided to make an emergency landing on the water. Upon touchdown, the airplane flipped over, and sustained substantial damage. The pilot escaped underwater and received minor injuries. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the landing gear was in the extended position, and the gear handle was in the "Up" position. All electrical wiring was found to be intact, and no other mechanical issues were found. A certificated aircraft mechanic, familiar with the accident airplane, stated that when the landing gear cycle was initiated, the motor momentarily drew a very high current. He stated that if the battery was dead, or contained a low charge, the generator would "probably not" be able to handle the high current demand, and would not permit the landing gear to cycle. The pilot did not notice any other mechanical or electrical problems with the airplane during the flight.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to confirm that the landing gear was retracted prior to the attempted water landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/11/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1745 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Tampa |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 33622 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 275819N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0823130W |
| Event Location Airport | Peter O'Knight Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | TPF |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 8 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1725 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 340 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TPF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 8 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 4 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 280 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.03 |
| 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 |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25501 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 1 2009 2:44PM |
| User who most recently changed record | grer |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1982P |
| NTSB Number | ERA09CA245 |
| 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-18-150 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18-4217 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2000 |
| 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 | Jan 29 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 2 |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Dennis F Hardiman |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Tampa |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33601 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Dennis F Hardiman |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Tampa |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 33601 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | TPA |
| Departure City | Tampa |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1737 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | TPF |
| Destination City | Tampa |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 1 2009 2:44PM |
| User who most recently changed record | grer |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |