- Date
- July 16, 2018, 13:08 local (17:08 UTC)
- Place
- Hollywood, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5551LCessna 152
- Defining event
- Landing: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 18, 2019
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20180716011359A
- Case key
- 97808
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 inadvertent encounter with thunderstorm conditions and her failure to maintain a proper landing flare in a crosswind, which resulted in a bounced landing.
Findings · 3
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 solo student pilot reported that, while landing in a crosswind during thunderstorm activity, she feared that a go-around would put her into the storm. She added that the airplane bounced during the initial touchdown. She then applied "a bit of power" to recover, but the airplane porpoised, and the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount. The director of flight operations for the flight school reported that the student was endorsed for the solo cross-country, that she had received a weather briefing, and that she and her instructor had a briefing and discussion about the airfield and weather before her departure. He added that she was supposed to arrive before the summer storms started, but the storms came early. The student reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system at the airport reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 140° at 15 knots. The student landed the airplane on runway 10R. The observation further indicated thunderstorm activity and cumulonimbus clouds with occasional lightening in clouds and clouds to ground.
Factual narrative
The solo student pilot reported that, while landing in a crosswind, during thunderstorm activity, she feared that a go around would put her into the storm. She added that the airplane bounced during the initial touchdown. She then applied "a bit of power" to recover, but the airplane porpoised, and the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount. The director of flight operations for the flight school reported that, the student was endorsed for the solo cross country, she had received a weather briefing, and that she and her instructor had a briefing and discussion of the airfield and weather before her departure. He added that, she was supposed to arrive before the summer storms started, but the storms came early. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system at the accident airport reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 140° at 15 knots. The student pilot landed on runway 10R. The observation further indicated thunderstorm activity and cumulonimbus clouds with occasional lightening in cloud and cloud to ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5551L
- Reported as
- Cessna 152 (No Series)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15284353
- Built
- 1980
- Airframe hours
- 14,246.5
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- American Flight Training, LLC., doing business as Wayman Aviation Academy
- Registered owner
- Delaware Trust Co Trustee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 14, 2018
- Departed
- IMM · Immokalee, FL
- Destination
- HWO · Hollywood, FL
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- HWO · North Perry, runway 10R, 3,255 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 27
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 39 total · 39 in this make and model · 8 as pilot in command · 39 in the last 90 days · 33 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 77 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- KHWO
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 30, 2018, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.6 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.