Piper PA-24-180 accident near Fernandina Bch, Florida, April 22, 1999
On April 22, 1999 at about 11:25 pm local time, a Piper PA-24-180, registered N7059P, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fernandina Bch, Florida (Fernandina Bch Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the pilot to use the printed checklist which resulted in the gear-up landing. A factor associated with the accident was the intermittent failure of the gear warning horn.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 22, 1999 · about 11:25 pm local time
- Place
- Fernandina Bch, Florida · Fernandina Bch Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-180 · all PA-24-180s on the register
- Registration
- N7059P · registry record · serial 24-2209
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported he entered the traffic pattern to land, and though he had a printed checklist on his lap, he did not use it. Instead he relied on his mental checklist for landing. Wearing a headset, the airplane was landed with the landing gear retracted. Postaccident testing of the landing gear extension system revealed no evidence of failure or malfunction. The landing gear 'up' light illuminated with the airplane on the runway and the master switch turned on. Also, the landing gear warning horn was heard by an FAA certificated airframe and powerplant mechanic who entered the airplane while it was on the runway, with the master switch on and the throttle at a low power position. Postaccident testing of the gear warning system in the presence of an FAA inspector revealed that the horn did not operate when the throttle was at a low power setting, the landing gear selector handle was in the 'up' position, and the master switch was turned on.
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: 1,127 hours in all; 24 in this make and model; 45 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 1,079 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,623 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 15, 1998; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 4J6 St Mary'S GA at 11:15 pm
- Destination: 55J
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 13, 5,152 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:56 pm from JAX, 14 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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 N7059P the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 MIA99LA138.