- Date
- July 21, 2011, 17:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- North English, IA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5439Grumman Schweizer G-164A
- Defining event
- Landing: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 20, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20110721014159A
- Case key
- 81192
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 which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot stated that he was attempting a landing into the sun with agricultural chemical on the windshield. He said that a sudden air burst pushed the airplane down, which resulted in a hard landing. The airplane then bounced and impacted the runway causing substantial damage to the fuselage. Weather reports for the area did not indicate the presence of weather that would have resulted in an air burst.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he was attempting a landing into the sun with agricultural chemical on the windshield. He said that a sudden air burst pushed the airplane down, which resulted in a hard landing. The airplane then bounced and impacted the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. Weather reports for the area did not indicate the presence of weather that would have resulted in an air burst.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5439
- Reported as
- Grumman Schweizer G-164A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1158
- Airframe hours
- 8,554.2
- Engine
- Garret AiResearch TPE-331, 665 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Kirk Aviation Inc
- Registered owner
- Kirk Aviation Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · July 16, 2011
- Departed
- 7IA1 · North English, IA
- Destination
- North English, IA
- Airport
- 7IA1 · White Pigeon Airport, runway 27, 2,400 × 70 ft, grass/turf
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
- 68
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 20, 2011
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 30,000 total · 2,508 in this make and model · 29,750 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 97 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.81 inHg
- Observed at
- AWG, 26 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 7, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 12 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.