NTSB CAROL · Event
Event MIA95FA100
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO EXTEND WING FLAPS AND MAINTAIN AIRSPEED WHILE ON APPROACH TO LAND RESULTING IN AN INADVERTENT STALL, SPIN, AND UNCONTROLLED DESCENT UNTIL COLLISION WITH A RESIDENCE AND THE GROUND.
Factual narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On April 8, 1995, about 0911 eastern daylight time, a PA-28-160, N5718W, registered to a private individual, crashed while on approach to Albert Whitted Airport, St. Petersburg, Florida, while on a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was destroyed, and the private-rated pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. The flight originated from Okeechobee, Florida, on April 8, 1995, about 0800. A person identifying himself as the pilot of N5718W contacted a flight specialist at the FAA St. Petersburg Flight Service Station by radio at 0836, reporting over Sebring, Florida and requesting flight following to Albert Whitted Airport. The pilot was given a radio frequency for FAA Miami Center, but read back an incorrect frequency. The flight specialist was unable to make further contact with the pilot. The pilot did not contact FAA Miami Center. A person identifying himself as the pilot of N5718W called the FAA Tampa Approach Control at 0854. The pilot did not receive a response from the controller. The pilot again called Tampa Approach at 0901 reporting that he was inbound to Albert Whitted Airport. The controller assigned the flight a transponder code and attempted several times to have the pilot "ident". At 0908, the controller located the aircraft 2 miles northeast of the Albert Whitted Airport, in the airport traffic area. At 0908:57, the controller told the pilot to contact the FAA Albert Whitted Tower. The pilot made contact with controllers at the Albert Whitted Airport Control Tower at 0909:10. The pilot was told to enter downwind for runway 6. At 0910:38, the pilot was cleared by the controller to land on runway 6. At 0911:06, the pilot reported on base leg for runway 6. No further transmissions were received from the pilot. A witness at MacDill Air Force Base, located across Tampa Bay, northeast of Albert Whitted Airport, reported seeing a single engine airplane fly over the base on the morning of April 8, 1995. He heard the engine noise decrease as if the pilot closed the throttle. The engine then increased in power and the aircraft flew off to the west-northwest. Witnesses in the area of Albert Whitted Airport observed N5718W flying east to west near the airport. The aircraft turned to the north. The aircraft was at a low altitude, the engine was at low power and the aircraft appeared to be at a slow airspeed. The engine suddenly went to full power and the aircraft banked to the right. The nose of the aircraft dropped down and the aircraft descended in a near vertical descent until it crashed in a residential area.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
Information on the pilot is contained in this report under pilot information.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
Information on the airplane is contained in this report under aircraft information.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. Additional meteorological information is contained in this report under weather information.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The airplane crashed in a residential area 1 mile southwest of the approach end of runway 6 at the Albert Whitted Airport, St. Petersburg, Florida. Examination of the crash site indicated the airplane was in a nose down, near vertical, descent when the right wing collided with the roof of a house located at 645 15th Avenue South, St. Petersburg. The airplane's right fuel tank separated and came to rest in the kitchen of this house. The remainder of the airplane crashed into the ground nose first and came to rest between the houses located at 645 and 651 15th Avenue South. Examination of the crash site indicated all components of the airplane necessary for flight were located on or about the main wreckage of the airplane. The main wreckage was laying upright on a 45-degree heading. The wing flaps were in the retracted position. Continuity of the aileron, rudder, elevator, and elevator trim control cables was established. The stabilator trim tab was found set to the 7.5 degrees tab down or nose up position. The engine was rotated and continuity was established within the crankcase, valve train, and accessory drives. Each cylinder produced normal compression. The magnetos separated from the engine during the crash sequence. Each magneto produced spark when turned by hand. Each spark plug had deposits which were consistent with normal engine operation. The carburetor had sustained impact damage and was separated from the engine. Examination of the carburetor showed all jets and passages were unobstructed. The engine-driven fuel pump separated from the engine during the crash sequence. The engine-driven fuel pump operated normally after the accident. The propeller had damage consistent with rotation with power during ground impact. Examination of the airframe fuel system showed all fuel lines were unobstructed. The fuel selector valve was on left tank. Clean 100 low lead aviation fuel was found in the lines. The electric airframe fuel boost pump operated normally after the accident. Additional wreckage and impact information is contained in supplements to this report.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
Post-mortem examination of the pilot and passenger was conducted by Edward R. Corcoran, M.D., Associate Medical Examiner, Largo, Florida. The pilot and passenger died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. No findings that could be considered causal to the accident were reported. Post-mortem toxicology tests on specimens obtained from the pilot and passenger were performed by Ronald R. Bell, Chief Toxicologist, Office of the Medical Examiner, Largo, Florida and by Dennis V. Canfield, Ph.D., Federal Aviation Administration, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The tests were negative for ethanol alcohol, carbon monoxide, basic, acidic, and neutral drugs. For additional medical and pathological information see supplements K.
TESTS AND RESEARCH
Radio transmissions from the pilot of N5718W which were recorded by the FAA Albert Whitted Airport Control Tower were examined by the NTSB Office of Research and Engineering. The transmissions made at 0910:41 and 0911:06 contained a constant 79.8 Hz. tone. This could be associated with a propeller rotation speed of 2395 rpm based on the fundamental frequency or a propeller rotation speed of 1197 rpm based on the second harmonic frequency. (See the Specialist's Factual Report of Investigation, Air Traffic Control Recording.) A review of recorded radar data from the FAA Tampa Approach Control showed N5718W was at an altitude of 500 feet and had a ground speed of 101 knots when a downwind leg for runway 6 was established at 0910:40. At 0911:08, when the pilot reported on base leg for runway 6, the aircraft was on a heading of 269 degrees, at 300 feet altitude, and at a ground speed 101 knots. The last recorded radar return from the aircraft was at 0911:22. The aircraft was on heading 330 degrees, at 200 feet altitude, and at ground speed 100 knots. See attached radar data.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The aircraft wreckage was released to the estate of the registered owner in custody of James W. Burns, on April 9, 1995. THE FLIGHT ENTERED THE TAMPA TERMINAL CONTROL AREA WITHOUT CLEARANCE. THE FLIGHT ENTERED THE ALBERT WHITTED AIRPORT CLASS D AIRSPACE WITHOUT CLEARANCE AND WAS OBSERVED ON RADAR 2 MILES NORTHEAST OF THE AIRPORT. THE PILOT MADE CONTACT WITH ALBERT WHITTED TOWER CONTROLLERS AND WAS CLEARED TO ENTER DOWNWIND AND LAND ON RUNWAY 06. WITNESSES SAW THE AIRCRAFT ON BASE LEG TO RUNWAY 06. THE AIRCRAFT WAS LOW, A LITTLE ABOVE TREE TOPS, AND THE AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO BE AT A SLOW SPEED. ENGINE POWER SUDDENLY INCREASED AND THE RIGHT WING AND NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT DROPPED. THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED IN A NEAR VERTICAL NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE AND CRASHED INTO A HOUSE AND THE GROUND. POST CRASH EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT SHOWED THE WING FLAPS WERE IN THE RETRACTED POSITION AND THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF AIRFRAME, FLIGHT CONTROL, OR ENGINE MALFUNCTION. NO EVIDENCE TO INDICATE PILOT INCAPACITATION WAS FOUND BY THE MEDICAL EXAMINER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1995_MIA95FA100.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
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Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
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- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Analysis on the Negative Emotional, Physiological, and Cognitive Responses Elicited from of the Activation of a Stall Alarm
Failing to identify an aerodynamic stall can lead to the inability of an aircraft to sustain flight. To warn pilots of an impending or fully-developed stall, many aircraft have safety devices installe…
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