- Date
- April 23, 1996, 16:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Alice, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2537DPiper PA-38-112
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960423012989A
- Case key
- 19817
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 landing flare and improper bounced landing recovery.
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
During a supervised solo flight, the student pilot landed hard and a porpoise developed. The nose landing gear sheared, the propeller struck the pavement, and then the aircraft struck a runway sign which damaged the left wing and punctured the fuel cell.
Factual narrative
On April 23, 1996, at 1643 central daylight time, a Piper PA-38-112, N2537D, was substantially damaged while landing at the Alice International Airport, in Alice, Texas. The airplane was owned by AVlease Inc., and operated by Southwind Aviation of Brownsville, Texas. The student pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. The supervised solo cross country flight was conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight for which a flight plan was filed. The airplane last departed from Corpus Christi International Airport, approximately 30 minutes prior to the accident.
According to witnesses, the airplane made an approach to Runway 13, landed hard, bounced and porpoised 2 or 3 times, collapsing the nose landing gear. The airplane veered off the runway and impacted a taxiway sign resulting in substantial damage to the left wing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2537D
- Reported as
- Piper PA-38-112
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 38-79A0350
- Airframe hours
- 2,409
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2A, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Avlease, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- CRP · Corpus Christi, TX
- Destination
- ALI
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- ALI · Alice International, runway 13, 6,000 × 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
- Pilot
- Age
- 26
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 29 total · 29 in this make and model · 3 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 29 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ALI
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.