What happened
On April 4, 2002, at approximately 15:00 local time, a Cessna 152 (registration EC-DSY) was performing a general aviation flight between Valladolid and León. The pilot had departed Valladolid to return to León after refueling, as AVGAS 100LL was unavailable at the León station.
During the landing phase at León Airport, the pilot executed a normal approach but performed a late flare. This resulted in a heavy three-point touchdown that caused the aircraft to bounce back into the air. Following this initial impact, the aircraft's nose dropped sharply, leading to a secondary, much harder impact specifically on the nose gear. The aircraft eventually completed the landing on the main gear without further incident. The pilot was uninjured.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of the touchdown and the subsequent aerodynamic behavior of the aircraft. Investigators examined the pilot's maneuvers during the final approach and the physical damage sustained by the airframe. The inspection of the aircraft on the apron revealed damage to the nose gear strut and the engine mount.
Findings
- The pilot performed a late flare, which prevented the aircraft from achieving a sufficiently low descent rate for a smooth touchdown.
- The initial three-point contact was excessively heavy, causing the aircraft to bounce.
- During the bounce, the aircraft lost significant energy, which reduced the effectiveness of the horizontal stabilizer.
- The pilot failed to correct the aircraft's pitch attitude following the bounce, leading to a loss of airspeed and a subsequent nose-down pitch into a stall.
- The secondary impact was concentrated on the nose gear, causing the structural damage observed.