- Date
- March 17, 1994, 14:02 local (20:02 UTC)
- Place
- Wheeling, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2MSCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 14, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940317005619A
- Case key
- 9491
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.
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 pilot reported he flared too high, then started to drift. He pushed the nose forward, the airplane contacted the ground nose first and bounced back into the air. The student pilot reported when he tried to recover, the airplane 'stalled' and dropped abruptly to the ground. The student pilot reported 30 hours total flight experience, including 2 hours within the preceding 90 days.
Factual narrative
On March 17, 1994, at 1402 central standard time, a Cessna 152, N2MS, piloted by a student pilot on a solo instructional flight, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing while practicing touch and go landings on Runway 12L at Palwaukee Airport (PWK), in Wheeling, Illinois. The student pilot, the sole occupant, reported no injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, no flight plan was filed. The flight operated under 14 CFR Part 91, and originated from Wheeling, approximately 1345.
The student pilot stated everything looked fine to him during the approach, but he flared too high. He reported the airplane began to drift off the left side of the runway, so he pushed the nose down to get the airplane on the ground. The airplane impacted the ground nose first, then bounced and became airborne again. The student pilot reported he tried to recover and reestablish the airplane in a flare. The airplane "stalled" and dropped abruptly to the ground. The student pilot reported about 30 hours total flight experience, of which 2 hours were in the preceding 90 days. A record of conversation with the FAA Inspector is appended.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2MS
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15282011
- Airframe hours
- 3,166
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Sundmacher, Marjorie M.
- Registered owner
- Sundmacher, Marjorie M.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 3, 1993 · 62 hours before
- Airport
- PWK · Palwaukee, runway 12, 4,397 × 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
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 30 total · 30 in this make and model · 2 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 16 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PWK
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.