- Date
- May 29, 2008, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Castroville, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4789PCessna CE-152
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 28, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- San Antonio FSDO
- FAA report
- 20080529839019A
- Case key
- 68192
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
An improper flare during landing. Contributing to the accident was a porpoise induced oscillation.
Findings · 2
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
The student pilot was on his second solo flight when the airplane bounced during a hard landing on runway 15. The airplane bounced three times with each bounce harder than the previous bounce. After the third bounce the airplane landed nose gear first, the propeller struck the runway, and the nose gear collapsed. There was substantial damage to the forward firewall. The instructor pilot witnessed the accident and reported the winds as light and variable.
Factual narrative
The 44 hour student pilot was on his second solo flight when the airplane bounced during a hard landing on runway 15. The airplane bounced three times with each bounce harder than the previous bounce. After the third bounce the airplane landed nose gear first, the propeller struck the runway, and the nose gear collapsed. There was substantial damage to the forward firewall, but no injuries to the solo pilot. The instructor pilot witnessed the accident and reported the winds as light and variable.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4789P
- Reported as
- Cessna CE-152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15284817
- Airframe hours
- 7,626
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Alpha Tango Flying Services Inc.
- Registered owner
- Laguna Verde Leasing
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 1, 2008
- Departed
- T89 · Castroville, TX
- Destination
- Castroville, TX
- Airport
- T89 · Castroville Muni, runway 15, 4,600 × 75 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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 21
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2008
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 44 total · 44 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 44 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.