On May 8, 1994, a Grumman American TR-2 (registration N1639R) operated by David R. Johnson was involved in an aviation accident near Wichita, KS. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: was the pilot-in-command not performing an aborted landing after the first porpoise event and bounce into the air. Factors associated with this accident were an excessive airspeed and porpoising encountered by the pilot-in-command. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
An airplane ballooned during landing flare, porpoised multiple times, lifted off, and exited the runway, nosing over in soft soil. A pilot-rated passenger applied power after the pilot did not respond to the porpoising.
Incident Overview
During the landing flare, the airplane ballooned. It subsequently touched down and began porpoising. The airplane lifted off the runway and touched down two additional times, porpoising before each lift-off. After lifting off a third time, the airplane was positioned approximately 30 degrees to the runway centerline, according to a pilot-rated passenger.
Passenger Actions
The passenger reported that he had told the pilot to go around after the last two bounce events. He stated that he applied power when he did not observe a response from the pilot after the third bounce.
Pilot Response
The pilot said he was "...still concentrating on the effects of the porpoising, and was not prepared to handle the sudden power increase."
Final Outcome
The airplane exited the runway edge and nosed over after encountering soft soil.