History of the Flight
On 2 September 2022, at approximately 10:15 a.m., a student pilot operated a Cessna 172S aircraft with registration HS-PTF, owned by Bangkokair Aviation Training Center Co., Ltd., using call sign Sunshine 103, while practicing a solo flight in the vicinity of Sukhothai Airport. During the first landing on runway 36, the aircraft's speed tended to be high. The student pilot flared less than normal, resulting in a high runway contact speed. The aircraft bounced three times, leading to a hard landing that caused damage. The student pilot then executed a go-around. While returning to the airport, the Engine Low Oil Pressure alarm activated, but the engine continued operating, and the aircraft landed safely on the runway. The accident occurred at approximately 10:36 a.m.
Injuries to Persons
The student pilot was not injured.
Damage to Aircraft
The aircraft was substantially damaged. Details include:
- The nose landing gear was damaged; the nose gear shock strut collapsed into the firewall between the engine and cockpit, jamming with the lower engine cowling.
- The firewall at the front part near the nose landing gear was hit and pushed up by the nose gear shock strut.
- The fuselage front section lower skin around the eye bolt was torn and damaged.
- Both left and right nose landing gear steering bearing rod ends were broken.
- The upper and lower nose gear fittings were damaged, with a loosened rivet and a split between the nose landing gear and the firewall.
- The engine cowling was damaged; some parts of the cowling mount and bracket assembly were torn and deformed.
- The engine oil filter was hit and damaged, causing an oil leak.
- Propeller blades were damaged and bent at the tips from contacting the runway surface. The remaining propeller diameter was 177.5 cm (71 inches), less than the minimum of 187.5 cm (75 inches) specified in the Pilot Operating Handbook.
Other Damage
The runway surface sustained damage from the propeller blades, creating a pit measuring 5 x 27 x 3 centimeters.
Personnel Information
The student pilot was 19 years old, Thai, holding a student pilot licence issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand on 4 August 2022, valid until 3 August 2023. The pilot held a Class 1 medical certificate issued on 1 November 2021, valid until 2 November 2023, with limitations requiring corrective lenses for distant vision and a special ophthalmological examination every year. Total flight time was 13 hours 55 minutes, all on the Cessna 172S, including the accident flight of 1 hour.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft was a Cessna 172S, serial number 172S12486, manufactured in 2020. The maximum takeoff mass was 1,157 kg (2,550 lb). Takeoff mass on the accident flight was 974 kg (2,148 lb) and landing mass 945 kg (2,084 lb). The engine was a Textron Lycoming IO-360-L2A, and the propeller was a McCauley fixed-pitch propeller. The last periodic maintenance (100-hour) was performed on 14 July 2022 at 1,001.31 hours time since new, and at the time of the accident, airframe time since new was 1,024.21 hours.