- Date
- October 25, 2018, 10:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Carson City, NV
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N288SLAirplane Factory Sport Light
- Defining event
- Landing: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 8, 2019
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20181025020859A
- Case key
- 98546
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, 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
The student pilot reported that, during his second solo flight, while performing a touch and go, the airplane landed "very" hard and bounced twice before he initiated a go-around. During the subsequent base turn, he felt that the rudder pedals were not reacting to his commands, and he "sensed" that the landing gear had been damaged during the landing. Immediately after the nosewheel touched down, the airplane veered right and exited the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The student pilot reported that, during his second solo flight, while performing a touch and go, the airplane landed "very" hard and bounced twice before he initiated a go around. During the subsequent base turn, he felt that the rudder pedals were not reacting to his commands and he "sensed" that he had damaged the nose landing gear. During the landing, immediately after the nose wheel touched down, the airplane veered right and exited the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount. The student pilot reported that prior to the hard landing there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N288SL
- Reported as
- Airplane Factory Sport Light
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 176
- Built
- 2014
- Airframe hours
- 1,672
- Engine
- Rotax 912 IS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 1, 2018
- Departed
- CXP · Carson City, NV
- Destination
- CXP · Carson City, NV
- Airport
- CXP · Carson, runway 27, 6,101 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display
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
- 72
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 49 total · 40 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.29 inHg
- Observed at
- KCXP, 1 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 14, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.1 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.