- Date
- October 10, 1994, 11:12 local (16:12 UTC)
- Place
- Bloomington, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N69187Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 27, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19941010038019A
- Case key
- 9775
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 failure to maintain aircraft control while landing. Factors associated with the accident were the improper landing flare and the pilot's lack of total experience.
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 accident occurred on the student pilot's first solo flight. He stated that during landing, the airplane ballooned, veered off the left side of the runway and contacted the terrain in a nose down attitude.
Factual narrative
On October 10, 1994, at 1112 central daylight time, a Cessna 152, N69187, registered to Clark Aviation, Inc., experienced a nose gear collapse following a hard landing on runway 03 at the Bloomington Normal Airport, Bloomington, Illinois. The student pilot was not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight was not operating on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated from Bloomington, Illinois, on October 10, 1994, at 1000 cdt.
The accident occurred during the student pilot's first solo flight. The pilot stated he was in the traffic pattern for runway 03 when the tower instructed him that he was number two for landing. He stated he made some adjustments in the pattern and was in "good alignment" for landing. He reported he reduced the engine power to idle just over the end of the runway and started to flare at 55 to 60 knots indicated airspeed. He stated that during the flare the nose of the airplane rose up and the airplane gained 15 to 20 feet in altitude. He reported, "I maintained my control inputs waiting for the plane to settle to the runway. The nose started down a bit too fast so I pulled some back pressure on the elevator to keep the nose wheel from hitting the ground." He stated that at this time the airplane ballooned and veered to the left of the runway. He stated he attempted to put the main gear back on the runway while holding the nose wheel off, but the airplane bounced and came to rest nose down off the left side of the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N69187
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15285347
- Airframe hours
- 5,940
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Clark Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 16, 1994 · 34 hours before
- Departed
- BMI
- Destination
- BMI
- Airport
- BMI · Bloomington-Normal, runway 3, 3,720 × 100 ft, concrete
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
- 34
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14 total · 12 in this make and model · 14 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BMI
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.