# Incident 19970819038879I: Gulstm AA1C, Santa Monica, CA, August 19, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 19, 1997, 10:30 local time
- Place: Santa Monica, CA
- Airport: Santa Monica Municipal Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.0158° N, 118.4513° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at SANTA MONICA MUNI (SMO), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.0158&lon=-118.4513&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9805U, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9805U) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Grumman American Avn. AA-1C (registry code 3960100, https://openairdocs.org/model/grumman-american-avn-aa-1c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-235 series (registry code 41505, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: GULSTM AA1C
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 23 total, 23 in this make and model, 23 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970819038879I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1997 AT APPROXIMATELY 10:30 AM PST, A GRUMMAN AA-1C, OPERATED BY MR. MILCO RAPPUOLI, A STUDENT PILOT, WAS DAMAGED DURING LANDING ON RUNWAY 21 AT SANTA MONICA AIRPORT. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED IMPACT DAMAGE TO THE NOSE STRUT AND NOSE WHEEL ASSEMBLY. IMPACT FORCES CAUSED BY A HARD LANDING ON THE NOSE GEAR CAUSED THE NOSE WHEEL STRUT TO FAIL, BENDING AT THE MID POINT OF THE STRUT, THEN COLLAPSING. THE COLLAPSING STRUT CAUSED THE PROPELLER TO STRIKE THE PAVEMENT SURFACE, AS EVIDENCED BY PROPELLER MARKS. THE SAME PROPELLER MARKS INDICATED THAT THE ENGINE WAS PRODUCING POWER AT THE TIME OF IMPACT. UPON INTERVIEWING MR. RAPPUOLI, HE STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT BOUNCED AT LEAST TWICE AFTER IMPACT BEFORE COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST ON A PAVED PORTION OF THE AIRPORT ABOUT MIDWAY FROM THE APPROACH END AND JUST TO THE LEFT OF THE LEFT RUNWAY BOUNDARY OF RUNWAY 21. MR. RAPPUOLI WAS SHAKEN BUT NOT INJURED DURING THE LANDING. AN ON SITE INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT BY AIRWORTHINESS INSPECTORS SHOWED DAMAGE TO THE NOSE LANDING GEAR ASSEMBLY, PROPELLER STRIKE DAMAGE, DENTED ENGINE COWLING, AND SUDDEN ENGINE STOPPAGE. A LATER INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT DIVULGED NO OTHER SIGNIFICANT AIRCRAFT DAMAGE. BOTH MR. RAPPUOLI AND MR. GRANT STUART COOK (MR. RAPPUOLI'S FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR) WERE INTERVIEWED SUBSEQUENT TO THE INCIDENT. AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT, MR. RAPPUOLI WAS COMPLETING HIS SECOND SOLO FLIGHT OF THE MORNING. HIS VERY FIRST SOLO FLIGHT TOOK PLACE EARLIER IN THE MORNING AFTER COMPLETING AN INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT GIVEN BY MR. COOK. TOTAL FLIGHT EXPERIENCE OF MR. RAPPUOLI AT THE TIME OF T HE INCIDENT WAS APPROXIMATELY 23 HOURS|. WEATHER CONDITIONS AT SANTA MONICA ON THE MORNING OF THE INCIDENT WERE SKY CLEAR, VISIBILITY UNLIMITED, AND WINDS CALM. MR. RAPPUOLI STATED THAT HIS APPROACH SPEED ON FINAL WAS NORMAL BUT THAT THE AIRCRAFT LANDED HARD AND THEN BOUNCED. HE THEN STATED THAT HE PUSHED THE NOSE FORWARD AND ADDED POWER. MR. RAPPUOLI WAS UNSURE AS TO HOW MANY TIMES THE AIRCRAFT BOUNCED BEFORE THE NOSE WHEEL STRUT FAILED. MR. GRANT STUART COOK WAS COUNSELED ON HIS RESPONSIBILITIES FOR INSURING PRE-SOLO FLIGHT PROFICIENCY FOR STUDENT PILOTS PRIOR TO SOLO. IN PARTICULAR, THE PRE-SOLO FLIGHT TRAINING MANEUVERS LISTED IN 61.87(D) WERE DISCUSSED DURING THE COUNSELING SESSION. END.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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