- Date
- April 14, 2011, 08:30 local (12:30 UTC)
- Place
- Jacksonville, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N178CTFlight Design Ctls
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 22, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110414006289A
- Case key
- 78934
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 flare, which resulted in a hard 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 performing his second solo flight in the traffic pattern. During the flare on the first landing, the airplane porpoised on the runway, resulting in the nose wheel impacting the runway three times, oscillating harder each time. After the first landing, an air traffic controller contacted the flight school to inform them of the porpoised landing. The student pilot completed three more landings, taxied back to the ramp, and exited the airplane. The first assessment of the airplane revealed no obvious damage, and it was flown two more times before another examination of the airplane by the operator revealed substantial damage to the firewall. According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, there were no preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
Factual narrative
According to the student pilot, he was performing his second solo flight in the pattern. During the flare on the first landing, the airplane porpoised on the runway, resulting in the nose wheel impacting the runway three times, oscillating harder each time. After the first landing, an air traffic controller contacted the flight school to inform them of the porpoised landing. The student pilot completed three more landings, taxied back to the ramp, and exited the airplane. The first assessment of the airplane revealed no obvious damage, and it was flown two more times before another examination of the airplane by the operator revealed substantial damage to the firewall. According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, there were no preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N178CT
- Reported as
- Flight Design Ctls
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- F-08-07-04
- Airframe hours
- 881
- Engine
- Rotax 912ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- North Florida Flight Training, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Glenhurst Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 25, 2010
- Departed
- CRG · Jacksonville, FL
- Destination
- CRG · Jacksonville, FL
- Airport
- CRG · Craig Municipal Airport, runway 32, 4,008 × 100 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
- 46
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Sport pilot, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 21 total · 21 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 19 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- CRG
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 27, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 425 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.