Piper PA-24-250 accident near Denton, Texas, February 7, 1999
On February 7, 1999 at about 10:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-24-250, registered N112WS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Denton, Texas (Hidden Valley Airpark airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The hard landing as a result of the pilot's failure to maintain the proper descent rate during the landing flare.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 7, 1999 · about 10:45 pm local time
- Place
- Denton, Texas · Hidden Valley Airpark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-250 · all PA-24-250s on the register
- Registration
- N112WS · registry record · serial 24-2765
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the landing flare and the airplane contacted the runway 'hard.' The pilot approached the airport from the east for a visual approach. He stated that 'just before touchdown I realized we were sinking too fast,' and he applied power. Subsequently, the airplane contacted runway and the left main landing gear and the nose landing gear collapsed. The pilot stated that at the time of the accident the weather conditions were clear skies and calm winds.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 774 hours in all; 277 in this make and model; 29 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days; 774 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,626 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 13, 1998; 49 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GVT Greenville TX at 10:30 pm
- Destination: 5XT0 Lake Dallas TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 1,985 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW99LA073.