- Date
- May 5, 2012, 12:15 local (17:15 UTC)
- Place
- Houston, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N919LAEvektor-Aerotechnik Sportstar Plus
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 15, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- HOU FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20120505007839A
- Case key
- 83581
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 recovery from a bounced landing.
Findings · 2
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 sport pilot said that the landing flare was normal until the airplane suddenly touched down sooner than he expected. The airplane then bounced several times, landing nose first. The nose gear buckled, and the airplane slid about 75 feet to the right edge of the runway. The pilot reported that the nose gear and the firewall were both damaged. He also reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane or engine.
Factual narrative
The sport pilot said the landing flare was normal until the airplane suddenly touched down sooner than he expected. The airplane then bounced several times, nose first. The nose gear buckled and the airplane slid about 75 feet to the right edge of the runway. The pilot reported that the nose gear and the firewall were both damaged. He also reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane or engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N919LA
- Reported as
- Evektor-Aerotechnik Sportstar Plus
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20070919
- Airframe hours
- 1,640
- Engine
- Rotax 912ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Higgins Aviation Group LLC
- Registered owner
- Higgins Aviation Group LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · January 28, 2012
- Departed
- LBX · Angleton, TX
- Destination
- IWS · Houston, TX
- Airport
- IWS · West Houston, runway 15, 3,900 × 15 ft
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
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 55 total · 43 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Observed at
- IWS
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 22, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.6 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.