# NTSB LAX04LA247: Cessna 150M, N63149, Tucson, AZ, December 10, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: December 10, 2003, 07:36 local (14:36 UTC) - Place: Tucson, AZ - Coordinates: 32.142223, -111.174446 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.1422&lon=-111.1744&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 28, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 59502 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX04LA247 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/59502/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX04LA247 ## Probable cause the pilot's misjudged flare and improper recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in a pilot induced porpoise/oscillation. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - flare - misjudged, pilot in command (cause) - recovery from bounced landing - improper, pilot in command (cause) - porpoise/pilot-induced oscillation - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) - Nose gear collapsed, landing - roll ## Analysis The airplane landed hard and porpoised down the runway. During the landing, the pilot began his flare 1/3 of the way down the runway. The airplane's approach speed was slightly high and the flare was longer than the pilot expected. When he was halfway down the runway, he further raised the airplane's nose to land. The pilot realized that he was too high for a normal touchdown and was also slow. The airplane landed hard and bounced three times before the nose wheel collapsed. ## Factual narrative On December 10, 2003, about 0736 mountain standard time, a Cessna 150M, N63149, landed hard and porpoised down the runway at Ryan Field Airport, Tucson, Arizona. International Airline Training Academy, Inc., was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The instructional solo local flight departed from Tucson about 0700. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. In a written statement, the pilot reported that he had completed an approach for runway 6R. During the landing, he began his flare 1/3 of the way down the runway. The airplane's approach speed was slightly high and the flare was longer than the pilot expected. When he was halfway down the runway, he continued to pull back on the control yoke and raised the airplane's nose to land. The pilot realized that he was too high for a normal touchdown and was also slow. The airplane landed hard and entered a pilot induced/porpoise oscillation. It bounced three times before the nose wheel collapsed. This was upgraded from an incident to an accident on June 23, 2004. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane after the accident and noted damage to the firewall in addition to the damage to the landing gear. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N63149](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N63149), registered now, S/N 15077138, built 1975 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 150M - Registry model: [Cessna 150M](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150m) (registry code 2071830) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (registry code 17020, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15077138 - Engines: Continental O-200-A 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: International Airline Training Academy, Inc. - Registered owner: Jean-Marc Eloy - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, November 2, 2003, 48 hours before - Departed: RYN, Tucson, AZ - Destination: RYN, Tucson, AZ - Airport: RYN, Ryan Field Airport, runway 6R, 5,500 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 24; injuries: none; student; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 24 total, 24 in this make and model, 1 as pilot in command, 1 in the last 90 days, 1 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 39 °F, dew point 18 °F - Altimeter: 30.10 inHg - Observed at: TUS, 11 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Incident 20031210035109I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031210035109I), Dec 10, 2003: Cessna 150M, Tucson, AZ, Minor damage. (-23) On December 10, 2003, a Cessna 150 flown by a student pilot on his second solo landed on runway 06L at Ryan, Tucson AZ airport. The student experienced a… ## Other investigations on N63149 (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB LAX06CA177](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06CA177), May 18, 2006: Cessna 150M (N63149), Tucson, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: the failure of the student pilot to maintain directional control and the certified flight instructor's delayed remedial actions and inadequate supervision of the flight. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.