20220712012489I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Diffenbaugh Alan Scott SPORTSMAN GS-2 · Yellow Pine, ID · July 12, 2022

Date
July 12, 2022 · 20:19 local
Place
Yellow Pine, ID
Airport
Johnson Creek
Phase of flight
Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N814SL
Reported as
Diffenbaugh Alan Scott Sportsman GS-2
Reported engine
Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG
People aboard
2
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
1
Pilot’s certificate
Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
2,112 total632 in this make and model44 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Pilot had made two previous attempts on this same flight to land runway 19 (as "recommended" by airport guidance published by the Idaho transportation department that he had reviewed), both of which resulted in a successful go-around due to approach instability caused by gusty quartering tailwinds. On his third attempt he felt that "the bottom dropped out" when he was about 10'-20' above the runway and he was then unable to prevent the aircraft from making hard contact with the ground.

The ground contact was strong enough to cause collapse of the aircraft's nose landing gear.

As the FAA filed it

PILOT HAD MADE TWO PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS ON THIS SAME FLIGHT TO LAND RUNWAY 19 (AS "RECOMMENDED" BY AIRPORT GUIDANCE PUBLISHED BY THE IDAHO TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT THAT HE HAD REVIEWED), BOTH OF WHICH RESULTED IN A SUCCESSFUL GO-AROUND DUE TO APPROACH INSTABILITY CAUSED BY GUSTY QUARTERING TAILWINDS. ON HIS THIRD ATTEMPT HE FELT THAT "THE BOTTOM DROPPED OUT" WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 10'-20' ABOVE THE RUNWAY AND HE WAS THEN UNABLE TO PREVENT THE AIRCRAFT FROM MAKING HARD CONTACT WITH THE GROUND.

THE GROUND CONTACT WAS STRONG ENOUGH TO CAUSE COLLAPSE OF THE AIRCRAFT'S NOSE LANDING GEAR.