Charleston Executive Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Charleston, South Carolina 29418
Thursday, March 15, 2012 14:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot stated that the airplane touched down hard, bounced, and floated sideways before touching down again on the right main landing gear then the nose landing gear. The airplane's nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest upright on the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the engine firewall. The owner of the airplane stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/15/2012
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Charleston
Event State SOUTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 29418
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 324202N
Event Location Longitude 0800006W
Event Location Airport Charleston Executive
Event Location Nearest Airport ID JZI
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 17
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1355 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID JZI
Elevation of weather observation facility 19
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.29
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) 29908
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern C-ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record May 22 2012 11:50AM
User who most recently changed record gots
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N832KF
NTSB Number ERA12CA228
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-28-151
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-7515163
Certified Max Gross Weight 2325
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 18 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4227
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name HILTON HEAD FLYERS LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City HILTON HEAD ISLAND
Aircraft Owner State SC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 29926-1949
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name HILTON HEAD FLYERS LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City HILTON HEAD ISLAND
Operator State SC
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 29926-1949
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code LQK
Departure City Pickens
Departure State SC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1230
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code JZI
Destination City Charleston
Destination State SC
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 22 2012 11:50AM
User who most recently changed record gots
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 09
Runway Length 5350
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --