- Date
- February 9, 1991, 14:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Gastonia, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3353HErcoupe 415C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910209002479A
- Case key
- 8375
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's improper flare and subsequent failure to recover from a bounced landing.
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.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he had been on a local, personal flight. He returned to the airport and landed on the northeast runway. According to the pilot, after he had made a smooth two-point landing, a gust of wind picked up the airplane and dropped it hard on the runway. An FAA inspector reported that the pilot stated to him that he landed hard, bounced, and hit again on the nose gear. The closest weather reporting facility was 10 miles east and reported the winds as 290 degrees at 13 knots, which resulted in a 13-knot crosswind.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3353H
- Reported as
- Ercoupe 415C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 148537
- Airframe hours
- 2,304
- Engine
- Continental C75-12, 75 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Haigler, Gragel L.
- Registered owner
- Haigler, Gragel L.
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 3, 1991 · 10 hours before
- Airport
- 0A6 · Gastonia Municipal, runway 3, 3,506 × 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
- Pilot
- Age
- 70
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 4,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CLT, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.