- Date
- July 9, 1989, 20:00 local (Jul 10, 1989, 01:00 UTC)
- Place
- Indianapolis, IN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2545APiper PA-38-112
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890709021889A
- Case key
- 14378
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
Improper recovery from a bounced landing and failure to maintain directional control by the pilot. The student pilot's lack of flight experience contributed to the accident.
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 student plt on a solo flt was attempting a touch-and-go landing, flared high and bounced. He attempted to recover from the bounced landing with a power addition and reduction. When he saw he was going to bounce again, he made two additional power applications and reductions. He lost directional control to the left when the left wheel touched down on the runway with full power on the aircraft. He landed off the runway and struck a fence post with the right wing. The student had 6 hours solo time at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2545A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-7A0746
- Airframe hours
- 2,530
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Greenwood Flight Center, doing business as Greenwood Flight Center
- Registered owner
- Greenwood Flite Center Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 20, 1989 · 89 hours before
- Airport
- SI1 · Greenwood Muni., runway 18, 3,475 × 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 30 total · 24 in this make and model · 6 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IND, 11 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.