Piper PA-28 N315PA

Summary

On 17 July 2004 at about 17:30 local time, a Piper PA-28 registered N315PA, operated by Pam Am International Flight Academy, was involved in an accident near Okeechobee, Florida, United States. One person was 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

17 July 2004 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Okeechobee, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Okeechobee County Airport (KOBE)

Coordinates

27.2628, -80.8497

Aircraft

Piper PA-28

Registration

N315PA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Pam Am International Flight Academy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ft. Pierce → Okeechobee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA04CA106

Nobody was injured.

Student pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during landing roll, resulting in the airplane departing the runway and impacting a fence incurring substantial damage to the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot was permitted to perform his first solo landing by his certified flight instructor (CFI). The landing was under control until the nose wheel touched the runway and the airplane suddenly swerved to the left. He attempted to correct by applying right rudder; however, it was ineffective. He retracted the flaps in an effort to transfer weight to the wheels. By this time the airplane had departed from the left side of the runway onto the grass and shortly after impacted with a fence. The student pilot's CFI stated he did not witness the airplane land, but did examine the markings on the runway and grass. To the CFI the student pilot landed between the first 600 to 700 feet of the runway. The markings were consistent with the indication of the left main wheel off the ground while the right main and the nose wheel stayed on the ground traveling in a left direction. The tracks in the grass infer to the airplane's left wing hit the fence first which caused the airplane to veer left, which led to the nose of the airplane and right wing to hit the fence. The CFI asked the student pilot if he applied any brakes, he said "no". The student pilot did not report mechanical failures or malfunctions to the airplane or any of its systems prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.