N9221T

On March 22, 1997, at 1000 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-38-112, N9221T, collided with the runway during an attempted landing to runway 23 at the Moore County Airport in Southern Pines, North Carolina. The instructional flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight instructor and the student pilot were not injured. The flight departed Southern Pines, at 0900.

According to the flight instructor, the student pilot was flying the airplane when the accident occurred. He reported that this was the last approach for this flight, and the approach profile was stable. The approach profile remained stable until the airplane was beyond the runway threshold. The flight instructor recalled that as the student pilot started the landing flare, the airplane felt like it just stopped flying. In a failed attempt, the flight instructor applied additional engine power to recover from the no fly condition; the airplane dropped about 15 feet onto the runway, and collapsed the left main landing gear. . Examination of the airplane failed to disclose a mechanical problem, nor did the flight instructor report a problem with the airplane.