- Date
- July 2, 1988, 08:30 local (12:30 UTC)
- Place
- Fowlerville, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N192APPerkins Dragonfly
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880702025769A
- Case key
- 13847
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 failed to maintain positive control of his homebuilt aircraft by taking appropriate actions for recovery from the bounced landing. The aircraft contacted the ground abruptly on the third bounce and the upper wing spar failed. The pilot's lack of total flight experience in the homebuilt aircraft was a contributing factor, and the aircraft appears to have been underdesigned.
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
The pilot indicated that he had 3 hours total flight experience in the homebuilt aircraft. He stated that he attempted a power-off landing and the aircraft bounced. On the third bounce 'the (right wing) spar popped.' The pilot stated that 'this is a learning curve accident' and indicated that more time practicing slow flight and landings in the accident aircraft would have helped prevent the accident. The aircraft had sustained substantial damage to the left wing due to a hard landing during it's maiden flight in April, 1986. The flight during which this accident occurred was the aircraft's first flight since that accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N192AP
- Reported as
- Perkins Dragonfly
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 192
- Airframe hours
- 2
- Engine
- Hapi 60-2DM, 60 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Allen R. Perkins
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport
- 65G · Maple Grove, runway 27, 3,040 × 110 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
- 46
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 476 total · 3 in this make and model · 404 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N192AP · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.