Piper PA-44 incident near Daytona Beach, Florida, March 24, 1982
On March 24, 1982 at about 7:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-44, registered N257ER, suffered minor damage in an incident near Daytona Beach, Florida (New Smyrna Beach airport). 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
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 24, 1982 · about 7:45 pm local time
- Place
- Daytona Beach, Florida · New Smyrna Beach
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-44 · all PA-44s on the register
- Registration
- N257ER · no longer on the register · serial 8195002
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE DEMONSTRATING A SHORT FIELD LANDING IN STRONG CROSSWINDS THE AIRCRAFT DEVELOPED A HIGH SINK RATE WHEN CLOSE TO THE GROUND AND TOUCHED DOWN HARDER THAN NORMAL. THE LEFT MAIN GEAR BROKE FREE FROM THE AIRPLANE AND THE INSTRUCTOR WAS ABLE TO PERFORM A GO-AROUND WITH THE GEAR HANGING BY THE BRAKE LINE. DURING EMERGENCY PROCEDURE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE COMPANY, THE GEAR BROKE FREE AND IT FELL INTO A WOODED AREA. AN EMERGENCY LANDING WAS MADE AT DAYTONA BEACH, AND THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST IN THE GRASS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY. EXAMINATION OF THE REMAINING PORTION OF THE STRUT OUTER BARREL REVEALED AN AREA OF FATIGUE HALF WAY THROUGH THE WALL DIAMETER AT THE POINT WHERE THE TRUNNION WEB JOINS THE BARREL.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,857 hours in all; 748 in this make and model; 201 in the last 90 days; 1,682 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,799 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 49 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-E1AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Daytona Beach FL at 1:30 pm
- Destination: Daytona Beach FL
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 29, 5,000 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 10,000 ft; scat at 3,800 ft
- Temperature: 165°F (74°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:54 pm from DAB, 9 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 N257ER 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.