ANC06LA102

NTSB accident investigation · Liberty XL2 · Ormond Beach, FL · July 31, 2006

Accident · Serious injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
July 31, 2006, 09:10 local (13:10 UTC)
Place
Ormond Beach, FL
Injuries
1 serious
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N520XLLiberty XL2
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report January 31, 2007
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Alaska Regional Office
Parties
Orlando Florida FSDO
FAA report
20060731017079A
Case key
64246

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot's improper recovery from a bounced landing, and failure to maintain minimum airspeed during the subsequent aborted landing, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and impact with terrain. A factor associated with the accident was the inadvertent stall.

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

Hard landingLanding - flare/touchdown
Loss of control - in flightLanding - aborted
Recovery from bounced landing - improperPilot in commandCause
Airspeed(vs) - not maintainedPilot in commandCause
Stall - inadvertentPilot in commandFactor
In flight collision with terrain/waterDescent - uncontrolled
Terrain condition - ground

Analysis

The student pilot was conducting his second supervised solo flight within the airport traffic pattern under Title 14, CFR Part 91, and was being observed by his flight instructor. The instructor reported that the airplane bounced hard on landing, and that he heard the student apply power to abort the landing. He said the airplane pitched up sharply, rolled to the left, and impacted the ground. The instructor had flown with the student in the accident airplane prior to the solo accident flight, and reported that there were no known mechanical issues with the airplane prior to the accident.

Factual narrative

On July 31, 2006, about 0910 Alaska daylight time, a Liberty XL2 airplane, N520XL, sustained substantial damage during an in-flight collision with terrain, following a hard landing, and loss of control at the Ormond Beach Airport, Ormond Beach, Florida. The airplane was being operated by the student pilot as a supervised solo instructional flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo student pilot received serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on August 2, the director of operations for the flight school said the flight instructor told him he completed a training flight with the student, and exited the airplane. He said the instructor told the student to take the airplane around the pattern solo. According to the director of operations, the instructor pilot said on the second supervised solo flight around the pattern, the student landed hard, and the airplane bounced twice. The instructor told him he heard the student apply full power in an attempt to abort the landing after the second bounce. He said the instructor reported that the airplane started a steep climb, rolled to the left, descended, and impacted the ground. The director of operations said the airplane sustained structural damage to both wings and the fuselage.

In a written report to the NTSB prepared by the head of training for the operator, dated August 3, the head of training reiterated the earlier statements made by the instructor.

Aircraft

Registration
N520XL
Reported as
Liberty XL2
Category
Airplane
Serial number
0015
Airframe hours
208
Engine
Continental IOF 240 B4, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Operator
Ormand Beach Aviation, Inc., doing business as Ormand Beach Aviation, Inc.
Registered owner
Laft Asset Management, Inc.
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
100 hour · July 1, 2006
Departed
OMN · Ormond Beach, FL
Airport
OMN · Ormand Beach Municipal airport, runway 35, 3,701 × 100 ft, asphalt

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Student pilot
Age
54
Injuries
Serious
Certificate
Student
Medical
Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
Last flight review
July 1, 2006
Seat
Left
Flight hours
26 total · 14 in this make and model · 14 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Calm
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
77 °F, dew point 70 °F
Altimeter
30.05 inHg
Observed at
KOMN

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.