- Date
- August 27, 1994, 13:29 local (17:29 UTC)
- Place
- W. Columbia, SC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N94194Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940827023949A
- Case key
- 3441
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 student pilot's failure to properly flare the aircraft, resulting in a hard 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 solo student pilot was landing the airplane on a cross country flight. The approach was normal until the flare and touchdown. The aircraft landed hard, with the nose wheel touching down immediately after the mains. The nose gear collapsed, and the aircraft received structural damage. The landing was hard enough to activate the emergency locator transmitter. The pilot had logged about 61 hours total time, including 20 hours solo. He reported no mechanical problems with the aircraft during the accident flight.
Factual narrative
On August 27, 1994, at 1329 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N94194, was substantially damaged when the nose gear collapsed after a hard landing at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, in West Columbia, South Carolina. The student pilot was not injured. The aircraft was operated under 14 CFR Part 91 by the North American Institute of Aviation of Conway, South Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time, and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the solo- instructional flight. The flight originated at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, at 1220.
The pilot reported the following: He was landing at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, with a final approach speed of 60 to 65 knots, with 30 degrees of flaps extended. The approach was normal until the flare and touchdown. The main gear touched down first, immediately followed by the nose gear. The nose gear collapsed, and the airplane came to a stop. The landing was hard enough to activate the emergency locator transmitter. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction or failure with the aircraft during the accident flight.
An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration examined the aircraft, and reported that the airframe was structurally damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N94194
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15285618
- Airframe hours
- 6,870
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-N2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- N. American Inst. Of Aviation
- Registered owner
- N. American Inst. Of Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Special, Provisional (Special)
- Last inspection
- AAIP · August 18, 1994 · 36 hours before
- Departed
- 49J · Hilton Head Is., SC
- Destination
- CAE
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- CAE · Columbia Metropolitan, runway 29, 8,602 × 150 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
- 36
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 61 total · 61 in this make and model · 20 as pilot in command · 44 in the last 90 days · 26 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CAE
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.