- Date
- February 26, 2011, 10:05 local (15:05 UTC)
- Place
- Burlington, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N646XLLiberty Aerospace Liberty XL-2
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 20, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110226003109A
- Case key
- 78453
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.
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
According to the student pilot, he was attempting a second touch-and-go landing and takeoff. As he turned the airplane on to final approach, another airplane was crossing the runway threshold for a full stop landing. The pilot continued the approach, but slowed the airplane due to excess airspeed during the first landing, and to give the other airplane time to clear the runway. After crossing the runway threshold, he reduced the power to idle and began to flare. The main landing gear touched down harder than he anticipated, and the pilot said the airplane must have bounced. When the nose landing gear touched down, it broke away from the airplane and the propeller struck the runway. According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the airplane incurred substantial damage to the engine firewall. The pilot did not report any preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
Factual narrative
According to the student pilot, he was attempting a second touch and go landing to runway 6 at a cross country airport. As he turned the airplane on to final approach, another airplane was crossing the runway threshold for a full stop landing. The student pilot continued the approach, but slowed the airplane due to "excess" airspeed during the first landing, and to give the other airplane time to clear the runway. After crossing the runway threshold, the student pilot reduced the power to idle and began a flare. The main landing gear touched down harder than he anticipated, and the airplane "must have bounced." When the nose landing gear touched down, it broke away from the airplane and the propeller struck the runway. According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the airplane incurred substantial damage to the engine firewall. The student pilot did not report any preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane, and winds recorded at the airport 9 minutes earlier were from 120 degrees true at 4 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N646XL
- Reported as
- Liberty Aerospace Liberty XL-2
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 0116
- Airframe hours
- 468
- Engine
- Cont Motor IO-240-B, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- TAA Flight Training
- Registered owner
- Roj LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 11, 2011 · 15 hours before
- Departed
- GSO · Greensboro, NC
- Destination
- BUY · Burlington, NC
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- BUY · Burlington-Alamance, runway 06, 4,999 × 99 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
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 26 total · 26 in this make and model · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.22 inHg
- Observed at
- BUY
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.