ATL94LA173

Factual narrative

On September 19, 1994, at 2200 eastern daylight time, a Beech M35, N9931R, landed short and collided with the runway edge at the Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The student pilot and his flight instructor were not injured. The aircraft was owned and operated by the student pilot. The aircraft was substantially damaged. Night, visual meteorological conditions existed at the time, and no flight plan was filed for the business flight. The flight originated in Wilmington, North Carolina at 2100. The student pilot, Mr. Michael Lopez, reported that he had requested, through an airport staff employee, that his airplane be flown from Winston-Salem to Wilmington by a flight instructor. Mr. Lopez would then fly the airplane from Wilmington to Winston- Salem, with the instructor in the right seat. While approaching the Smith Reynolds Airport, Mr. Lopez allowed the aircraft to get low and slow on short final. The flight instructor, Mr. Richard Hartsog, cautioned him that they were too low, and Mr. Lopez raised the nose of the aircraft without adding power. The aircraft stalled on short final, resulting in a touchdown short of the runway threshold. Mr. Lopez also reported that he had not been acquainted with Mr. Hartsog prior to the day of the accident. Mr. Hartsog corroborated Mr. Lopez' account of the accident. He stated that he was unfamiliar with Mr. Lopez' flying abilities, and that he waited too late to take corrective action. An examination of the touchdown area revealed that the aircraft landing gear impacted the concrete edge of the runway end shortly after touchdown. The nose gear collapsed, and the left wing main spar buckled. THE STUDENT PILOT (117 HOURS TOTAL FLYING TIME) WAS LANDING THE AIRPLANE DURING NIGHT, VMC. THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR CAUTIONED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS LOW AND SLOW ON SHORT FINAL. THE STUDENT RAISED THE NOSE, BUT DID NOT ADD POWER. THE AIRCRAFT STALLED, AND LANDED SHORT OF THE RUNWAY EDGE. AS THE AIRCRAFT CROSSED THE RUNWAY EDGE, THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED, AND THE LEFT WING MAIN SPAR BUCKLED. THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT WAS THE FIRST OCCASION THAT THE STUDENT AND INSTRUCTOR HAD FLOWN TOGETHER. THE INSTRUCTOR REPORTED THAT HE WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE STUDENT'S ABILITIES, AND WAITED TOO LATE TO TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12