- Date
- July 16, 1997, 17:45 local (22:45 UTC)
- Place
- Sherman, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4870BCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 2, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970716019009A
- Case key
- 20283
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 pilot's delayed landing flare and his improper bounced landing recovery technique.
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
A witness at the airport reported that the airplane landed hard on runway 16 and the pilot lost control after the airplane porpoised three times, collapsing the nose landing gear on the second bounce. The witness added that after the propeller impacted the runway, the airplane nosed over, coming to rest in the inverted position. Examination of the airplane at the accident site by the FAA inspector confirmed the evidence of propeller slashes on the pavement. The operator stated that the student pilot was in the United States on a student visa to learn to fly, and he had accumulated a total of 18 hours of flight at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
On July 16, 1997, at 1745 central daylight time, a Cessna 152 airplane, N4870B, was substantially damaged following a loss of control while landing at the Sherman Municipal Airport, near Sherman, Texas. The solo student pilot was not injured. The airplane was owned by Whitmire Enterprises Inc., and operated by the South Central Flying Service, both of Sherman, Texas, under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local instructional flight for which a flight plan was not filed. The airplane departed from the Sherman Municipal Airport at approximately 1630.
A witness at the airport reported that the airplane landed hard on runway 16 and the pilot lost control after the airplane porpoised three times, collapsing the nose landing gear on the second bounce. The witness added that after the propeller impacted the runway, the airplane nosed over, coming to rest in the inverted position.
Examination of the 1979 model airplane at the accident site by the FAA inspector confirmed the evidence of propeller slashes on the pavement. The inspector added that the engine firewall was buckled, both wings sustained structural damage and the vertical stabilizer was crushed. The inspector further stated that the student pilot was in the United States from Poland on a student visa to learn to fly, and he had accumulated a total of 18 hours of flight at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4870B
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15283685
- Airframe hours
- 6,240
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Randy Livingston, doing business as South Central Flying Service
- Registered owner
- Whitmire Enterprises Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 15, 1996 · 99 hours before
- Departed
- SWI
- Airport
- SWI · Sherman Municipal Airport, runway 16, 4,005 × 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
- 33
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 18 total · 18 in this make and model · 2 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N4870B · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.