- Date
- September 8, 2014, 13:29 local (19:29 UTC)
- Place
- Belen, NM
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6693WPiper PA 28-140
- Defining event
- Landing-aborted after touchdown: Abrupt maneuver
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 12, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Albuquerque FSDO
- Case key
- 90042
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 improper recovery from a bounced 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
On the student pilot's second solo landing the airplane landed hard and bounced twice. The flight instructor, standing on the side of the runway, radioed instructions to "go-around". The student pilot then applied full power, applied right rudder and retracted one notch of flaps. The flight instructor observed the airplane was then in a steep nose up stalling pitch attitude. He radioed instructions to "pitch down, pitch down", and with the airplane very low to the ground and drifting left, the student pilot radioed back asking the flight instructor to "say again". Control was lost and the airplane impacted a hangar about 650 feet to the left of runway center line. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, tail surfaces, and both wings which were completely separated as the airplane penetrated the hangar wall. The fuselage came to rest inside the closed hangar and there was no postimpact fire. The student pilot reported that had attempted the go-around with too much pitch, too little speed, and not enough rudder input. He also reported that the accident would not have happened if he had spent more of his attention "flying the plane" and less attention communicating on the radio during a critical phase of flight. Additionally, the student pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
On the student pilot's second solo landing the airplane landed hard and bounced twice. The flight instructor, standing on the side of the runway, radioed instructions to "go-around". The student pilot then applied full power, applied right rudder and retracted one notch of flaps. The flight instructor observed the airplane was then in a steep nose up stalling pitch attitude. He radioed instructions to "pitch down, pitch down", and with the airplane very low to the ground and drifting left, the student pilot radioed back asking the flight instructor to "say again". Control was lost and the airplane impacted a hangar about 650 feet to the left of runway center line. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, tail surfaces, and both wings which were completely separated as the airplane penetrated the hangar wall. The fuselage came to rest inside the closed hangar and there was no postimpact fire. The student pilot reported that had attempted the go-around with too much pitch, too little speed, and not enough rudder input. He also reported that the accident would not have happened if he had spent more of his attention "flying the plane" and less attention communicating on the radio during a critical phase of flight. Additionally, the student pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6693W
- Reported as
- Piper PA 28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-21284
- Built
- 1965
- Airframe hours
- 10,300
- Engine
- Lycoming 0-320 SERIES, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 10, 2014
- Departed
- E80 · Belen, NM
- Destination
- E80 · Belen, NM
- Airport
- E80 · Alexander Muni, runway 21, 6,601 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 45
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 7, 2014
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 19 total · 19 in this make and model · 19 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.22 inHg
- Observed at
- KE80
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 15, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 10.7 MB in all.