- Date
- August 9, 2014, 14:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Stow, MA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N497PADiamond Aircraft Ind DA 20 C1
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 12, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20140809014489A
- Case key
- 89924
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 flight instructor/pilot's failure to recover from a bounced landing, which resulted in a hard landing and the subsequent collapse of the nose landing gear. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor's lack of total experience in the make and model of the accident airplane.
Findings · 4
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 flight instructor/pilot was conducting an introductory flight for the passenger and was landing on a 2,770-foot-long, asphalt runway. Upon landing, the airplane began to bounce. After the third touchdown, the nose gear collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the underside of the fuselage. The airplane's second touchdown was described as "rough" by the pilot, and "much more forceful than the initial touchdown" by the passenger. The pilot further stated that he considered aborting the landing after the first bounce, but elected to continue the landing attempt. Postaccident examination of the airplane, which included a metallurgical examination of nose landing gear assembly, did not reveal any preaccident malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported about 440 hours of total flight experience, which included about 8 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane, of which, 1.2 hours were accumulated during the previous 90 days.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor/pilot was conducting an introductory flight for the passenger and was landing on a 2,770-foot-long, asphalt runway. Upon landing, the airplane began to bounce. After the third touchdown, the nose gear collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the underside of the fuselage. The airplane's second touchdown was described as "rough" by the pilot, and "much more forceful than the initial touchdown" by the passenger. The pilot further stated that he considered aborting the landing after the first bounce, but elected to continue the landing attempt. Postaccident examination of the airplane, which included a metallurgical examination of nose landing gear assembly, did not reveal any preaccident malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported about 440 hours of total flight experience, which included about 8 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane, of which, 1.2 hours were accumulated during the previous 90 days.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N497PA
- Reported as
- Diamond Aircraft Ind DA 20 C1
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- C0297
- Built
- 2004
- Airframe hours
- 4,620
- Engine
- Continental Motors IO-240-B, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Noble Airventures LLC
- Registered owner
- Noble Airventures LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 28, 2014 · 27 hours before
- Departed
- 6B6 · Stow, MA
- Destination
- 6B6 · Stow, MA
- Airport
- 6B6 · Minute Man Air Field, runway 03, 2,770 × 48 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 440 total · 8 in this make and model · 340 as pilot in command · 39 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.19 inHg
- Observed at
- BED, 10 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 17, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.1 MB 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.