- Date
- June 4, 2011, 10:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lake In The Hills, IL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5816PMooney M20R
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Aerodynamic stall/spin
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 6, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - DuPage FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110604011869A
- Case key
- 79309
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 landing flare and recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in a loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the certified flight instructor’s inadequate supervision.
Findings · 4
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
**This report was modified on July 29, 2013. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report.** The pilot had recently purchased the airplane and was receiving flight instruction to become more comfortable operating it. The accident occurred as the pilot performed a simulated forced landing at the end of an instructional flight. The pilot began the landing flare above the region of ground effect and unintentionally induced an aerodynamic stall after his abrupt aft control yoke input. He increased engine power in response to the stall condition, but the airplane landed hard on the main landing gear in a nose-high attitude. The airplane subsequently bounced and began to veer to the left. The pilot and flight instructor were unsuccessful in regaining control. The airplane departed the runway and went down an embankment into a construction site. The fuselage, firewall, and both wings were substantially damaged during the event. A postaccident examination did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.
Factual narrative
**This report was modified on July 29, 2013. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report.** On June 4, 2011, at 1030 central daylight time, a Mooney model M20R airplane, N5816P, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at Lake in the Hills Airport (3CK), Lake in the Hills, Illinois. The pilot and his flight instructor were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the private pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was operated without a flight plan. The local instructional flight departed from Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport (KJVL), Janesville, Wisconsin, at 1015. The pilot reported that he was attempting a simulated forced landing when the accident occurred. The airplane bounced upon touchdown to which he responded by advancing engine power to initiate an aborted landing. He noted that he was unable to establish a climb as the airplane drifted left off the runway and down an embankment. He reported that after the bounced landing he relinquished control of the airplane to his flight instructor who was also unable to regain control of the airplane. The flight instructor reported that the pilot had recently purchased the accident airplane and was receiving flight instruction to become more comfortable operating the airplane. At the completion of the instructional flight, he asked the pilot to demonstrate a simulated forced landing to runway 26. As the airplane crossed midfield while on the downwind leg to the runway, the pilot reduced engine power to idle and established best glide airspeed as he maneuvered from base to final approach. The flight instructor reported that, after crossing the runway threshold, the pilot began the landing flare above the region of ground effect and unintentionally induced an aerodynamic stall after he "abruptly and quickly" pulled the control yoke aft. The pilot increased engine power in response to the stalled condition, but the airplane landed hard on the main landing gear in a nose-high attitude. The nose wheel subsequently struck the runway resulting in a porpoising effect. The flight instructor noted it was the hardest landing he had ever experienced. The airplane began to veer to the left due to the high engine power setting, but the flight crew's combined application of full right rudder was not successful in regaining directional control. As they unsuccessfully attempted to rotate the airplane for an aborted landing, the airplane departed the left side of the runway into a grassy area before proceeding down an embankment into a construction site. The fuselage, firewall, and both wings were substantially damaged during the event. A postaccident inspection did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. The nearest aviation weather observation station with recorded historical weatherinformation was at DuPage Airport (KDPA), about 21.5 miles south of the accident site, which was equipped with an automated surface observing system (ASOS). At 1052, the KDPA ASOS reported the following weather conditions: wind 260 degrees at 8 knots, gusting 14 knots; visibility 8 miles; sky clear; temperature 31 degrees Celsius; dew point 21 degrees Celsius; altimeter setting 30.02 inches of mercury.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5816P
- Reported as
- Mooney M20R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 29-0087
- Airframe hours
- 2,075
- Engine
- Continental IO-550-G5B, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 21, 2011
- Departed
- KJVL · Janesville, WI
- Destination
- 3CK · Lake In The Hills, IL
- Airport
- 3CK · Lake in the Hills Airport, runway 26, 3,801 × 50 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 24, 2011
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 260 total · 41 in this make and model · 133 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 41
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2011
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 761 total · 648 in this make and model · 688 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 8 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- KDPA, 19 nm away
Docket · 14
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 14, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 22.4 MB 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.