ATL97LA058
1997-03-22 · SOUTHERN PINES, North Carolina, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport SOP
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
the student pilot's improper landing flare and the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the training flight, which led to a hard landing.
Factual narrative
On March 22, 1997, at 1000 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-38-112, N9221T, collided with the runway during an attempted landing to runway 23 at the Moore County Airport in Southern Pines, North Carolina. The instructional flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight instructor and the student pilot were not injured. The flight departed Southern Pines, at 0900. According to the flight instructor, the student pilot was flying the airplane when the accident occurred. He reported that this was the last approach for this flight, and the approach profile was stable. The approach profile remained stable until the airplane was beyond the runway threshold. The flight instructor recalled that as the student pilot started the landing flare, the airplane felt like it just stopped flying. In a failed attempt, the flight instructor applied additional engine power to recover from the no fly condition; the airplane dropped about 15 feet onto the runway, and collapsed the left main landing gear. . Examination of the airplane failed to disclose a mechanical problem, nor did the flight instructor report a problem with the airplane. The flight instructor (CFI) stated that, the student pilot was flying the airplane when the accident occurred. He reported that this was the last approach for this flight. The approach profile remained stable until the airplane was beyond the runway threshold. The CFI recalled that as the student started the landing flare, the airplane felt like it just stopped flying. In a failed attempt, the CFI applied additional engine power to recover from the no-fly condition; the airplane dropped about 15 feet onto the runway, and the left main landing gear collapsed. Examination of the airplane failed to disclose a mechanical malfunction nor did the CFI report a problem with the airplane. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1997_ATL97LA058.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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