- Date
- December 17, 1984, 14:20 local (19:20 UTC)
- Place
- Manassas, VA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N14LCGrumman AA-5A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19841217067429A
- Case key
- 11123
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
After a higher and faster apch than usual due to conflicting traffic, the acft touched down on the nosewheel and began to porpoise, according to witnesses. After the second bounce, power was added for a go around, the pilot later stated. Witnesses saw the nose pitch up and the left wing drop with an accompanying left yaw concurrent with the addition of power. The roll and yaw continued untilground contact in a left wing low, nose low attitude about 50 ft left of the rwy 16R pavement. The student pilot soloed two days before the accident. He had accumulated 25 total hours, but only 10 in the AA-5A.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N14LC
- Reported as
- Grumman AA-5A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AA5A-0554
- Airframe hours
- 567
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2G, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Gordon H. Cooper
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 30, 1984 · 27 hours before
- Airport
- W20 · Manassas, runway 16, 4,000 × 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
- 54
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 25 total · 10 in this make and model · 25 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- W10
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.