Piper PA-28R-200 N1434T

Summary

On 26 September 2022 at about 22:00 local time, a Piper PA-28R-200 registered N1434T, operated by Tampa Bay Aviation Inc, was involved in an accident near Clearwater, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 September 2022 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Clearwater, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Clearwater Air Park (CLW)

Coordinates

27.9772, -82.7591

Aircraft

Piper PA-28R-200

Registration

N1434T

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Engines

1

Operator

Tampa Bay Aviation Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA435

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the flight instructor, at the conclusion of the checkout flight he and the pilot were returning to the airport for landing. The instructor described that the pilot’s approach was stable until he began the landing flare too high, at an estimated altitude of about 20 feet. The flight instructor told the pilot to execute a go-around and then attempted to take over the flight controls. He was unable to recover before the airplane landed hard, resulting in substantial damage to both wings. The flight instructor stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.