- Date
- September 25, 1998, 10:51 local (14:51 UTC)
- Place
- Danbury, CT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N94784Cessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 7, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980925033239A
- Case key
- 44035
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 improper flare and improper recovery from a bounced landing.
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
The pilot reported that during touchdown on runway 17, he did not flare soon enough, and the airplane hit hard on all three wheels causing a bounce. He said he tried to recover from the bounce, but the airplane hit the ground again, and then the nose contacted the runway. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction with the airplane or the engine. The reported winds at the time of the accident was variable at 6 knots.
Factual narrative
On September 25, 1998, at 1051 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N94784, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at the Danbury Municipal Airport, Danbury, Connecticut. The student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed. The local, solo, instructional flight originated at Danbury, Connecticut, and was conducted under 14 CFR 91.
The pilot reported that during touchdown on runway 17, he did not flare soon enough, and the airplane hit hard on all three wheels causing a bounce. He said he tried to recover from the bounce, but the airplane hit the ground again, and then the nose contacted the runway.
The pilot reported over 33 hours of total flight time, all in make and model. He also reported that there was no mechanical malfunction with the airplane or engine. The reported winds at the time of the accident were variable at 6 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N94784
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15285786
- Airframe hours
- 6,525
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 112 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- North American Aviation Inc
- Registered owner
- Starship Aviation Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 11, 1998 · 80 hours before
- Departed
- DXR
- Airport
- DXR · Danbury Muni, runway 17, 3,135 × 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
- 28
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 33 total · 33 in this make and model · 2 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DXR
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.