1 May 2012: CESSNA 152 — Alpha Tango Flying Services Inc.

1 May 2012: CESSNA 152 — Alpha Tango Flying Services Inc.

No fatalities • San Antonio, TX, United States

Probable cause

The student pilot's misjudgment of the landing flare, which resulted in a hard/bounced landing and subsequent impact with the runway.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

The solo student pilot intended to practice takeoffs and landings at a nearby airport. On the first landing, the airplane touched down on the main wheels and bounced. The nose landing gear subsequently impacted the runway, separating the nose wheel and landing gear strut. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall and wing struts. The pilot noted that she had very little practice with straight-in approaches. In addition, she thought that using the traffic pattern to setup for the landing might have prevented the accident. The student pilot's logbook revealed that this was her second solo flight and the first time she traveled to the nearby airport without a flight instructor on-board. She had logged a total of 0.5 hours solo flight time prior to the accident flight. Several flights had been logged between the student pilot's home airport and the nearby airport with a flight instructor on-board. The logbook contained a current solo endorsement and an endorsement for repeated solo flight between the airports involved.

Contributing factors

  • cause Student pilot
  • cause Landing flare — Not attained/maintained
  • Pilot

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 130/09kt, vis 10sm

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