Piper PA-28-181 accident near Tooele, Utah, August 17, 1999
On August 17, 1999 at about 10:15 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-181, registered N8262S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tooele, Utah (Bolinder Field-Tooele). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An inadequate flare during landing touchdown, resulting in a fracture of the right main landing gear strut. A factor was the flight instructor's failure to properly supervise the student.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 17, 1999 · about 10:15 pm local time
- Place
- Tooele, Utah · Bolinder Field-Tooele · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181 · all PA-28-181s on the register
- Registration
- N8262S · registry record · serial 28-8190035
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The instructor and his student were performing touch and go landings on runway 34 at Tooele. During the first landing, the student was at the controls and 'bounced a medium hard landing.' They continued in the traffic pattern and the student made a second hard landing. A witness on the ground notified the instructor via the radio that the right main landing gear appeared to be bent aft. They returned to Salt Lake City where emergency ground crews would be available. The instructor performed an emergency landing on runway 35. As the aircraft rolled out, the right landing gear bent aft and separated from the airplane. In the instructor's accident report, he stated that he believed that the aircraft's right landing gear strut had metal fatigue prior to the accident. However, according to several FAA inspectors who visually inspected the aircraft following the accident, no evidence of fatigue failure was found.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,000 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 1,900 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 2,450 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SLC Salt Lake City UT at 9:45 pm
- Destination: TVY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 5,498 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:48 am from SLC, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N8262S the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.