# Accident 20241006014879A: Schleicher ASK-21, Front Royal, VA, October 6, 2024

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 6, 2024, 15:00 local time
- Place: Front Royal, VA
- Airport: Front Royal-Warren County
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.9175° N, 78.2534° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.9175&lon=-78.2534&mi=10
- Aircraft: N341KS, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N341KS) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Schleicher ASK-21 (registry code 38015GY, https://openairdocs.org/model/schleicher-ask-21) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: NONE (registry code 00000, https://openairdocs.org/engine/none) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SCHLEICHER ASK-21
- Reported engine: NONE NONE
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 101 total, 80 in this make and model, 5 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA25LA009](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA25LA009) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20241006014879A

## Narrative

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

AIRCRAFT INSPECTED 10/23/2024.  AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED STRUCTERAL DAMAGE TO FUSELAGE DUE TO HARD LANDING.  REVIEWED AIRCRAFT RECORDS AND FOUND NO ISSUES.

STARTED ATQA.

PILOT STATEMENT:

THE FINAL APPEARED QUITE NORMAL TO ME, BUT AS I GOT CLOSER TO THE AIRPORT, IT LOOKED LIKE I WOULD NEED TO CLOSE THE AIRBRAKES TO STAY ON A GLIDE PATH THAT WOULD INTERCEPT MY AIM POINT (SECOND STRIPE AFTER THE "28" NUMBERS). IDEALLY, I WOULD WANT TO REOPEN MY AIRBRAKES TO ABOUT HALF OPEN SO THAT I ARRIVE AT MY AIM POINT AT PATTERN AIRSPEED WITH THE AIRBRAKES ABOUT HALF OPEN, BUT ONLY IF I COULD MAKE MY AIM POINT (OR, AS A MINIMUM, MAKE THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD). IN THIS CASE, I FELT THAT I NEEDED TO KEEP THE AIRBRAKE MOSTLY SHUT (ABOUT A QUARTER OR LESS OPEN), SO THAT IS WHAT I DID. THIS MEANT THAT I WAS LANDING WITH A RELATIVELY SHALLOW SLOPE (WHICH IS NOT MY PREFERRED/IDEAL APPROACH) COMPARED TO THE SLOPE WHEN USING HALF AIRBRAKES. MY GOAL, AS ALWAYS, WAS TO FLARE SUCH THAT, AT THE END OF THE FLARE, DURING THE HOLD-OFF PHASE, THE GLIDER WOULD BE ABOUT 1 TO 2 FEET ABOVE THE RUNWAY, WHERE I WOULD KEEP GLIDER IN THE LANDING PITCH ATTITUDE UNTIL THE SPEED BLEEDS OFF SO THAT I CAN HAVE A LOW-ENERGY TOUCHDOWN. HOWEVER, IN THIS CASE, THE GLIDER BOUNCED (PROBABLY DUE TO THE MOSTLY SHUT AIRBRAKES). ALTHOUGH I TRIED TO KEEP THE GLIDER AT THE LANDING PITCH ATTITUDE, THE GLIDER GOT INTO A PILOT-INDUCED OSCILLATION (PIO). I KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO MOVE THE STICK BACK AND FORTH, BECAUSE THAT WILL MAKE THE PIO WORSE, BUT, IN THIS CASE, THE BOUNCE WAS SUCH THAT THE MOMENTUM MOVED MY ARMS (AND THE STICK) BACK, MAKING THE GLIDER BE IN A HIGHER PITCH ATTITUDE THAT I WANTED. SO, ALTHOUGH I KNEW WHAT I WANTED TO DO, I WAS NOT ABLE TO EXECUTE IT THE WAY I WANTED. AND, WHEN YOU ARE IN A PIO, THINGS CAN HAPPEN VERY QUICKLY.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ERA25LA009](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA25LA009), Oct 6, 2024: Schleicher ASK-21 (N341KS), Front Royal, VA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s improper landing flare and subsequent improper recovery from a hard, bounced landing.

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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