Piper PA-23-250 accident near Stuart, Florida, February 28, 1999
On February 28, 1999 at about 11:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-23-250, registered N2313Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Stuart, Florida (Witham Field Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The inadequate touchdown resulting in a hard landing on the nose landing gear and subsequent structural damage.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 28, 1999 · about 11:45 pm local time
- Place
- Stuart, Florida · Witham Field Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23-250 · all PA-23-250s on the register
- Registration
- N2313Z · registry record · serial 27-8054013
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was advised that the wind at an airport near his destination airport was 250 degrees at 15 knots. The first leg of the flight was turbulent but that flight and the next 2 flights were uneventful. During the final leg, the pilot contacted the Air Traffic Control Tower and was advised that the wind was from 250 degrees at 18 knots with gusts to 25 knots. The pilot reported that during the flare to land, the nose pitched up then the airplane landed first on the nose landing gear. The airplane then bounced and the pilot performed a go-around. The flight returned for landing, and the airplane was landed in a three point attitude. During the landing roll, the pilot heard a sound from the nose landing gear and noted that the nose landing gear tire was flat. The airplane was secured on the runway. Examination of the airplane by an FAA Airworthiness Inspector revealed that the left main wing spar was damaged, the top skin of the nose section was wrinkled, the balance weight for the nose landing gear tire was separated, and fuselage damage near the pilot's window was noted.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,625 hours in all; 62 in this make and model; 76 in the last 90 days; 32 in the last 30 days; 1,664 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,514 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 25, 1999; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FPR Fort Pierce FL at 11:15 pm
- Destination: SUA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25, 4,652 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 260° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:48 pm from FPR, 20 miles away
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.
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.