# NTSB LAX06CA209: Cessna 152, N5534M, Concord, CA, June 22, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: June 22, 2006, 09:20 local (16:20 UTC) - Place: Concord, CA - Coordinates: 37.993888, -122.061668 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.9939&lon=-122.0617&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report October 3, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 63966 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX06CA209 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/63966/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06CA209 ## Probable cause the student pilot's unstabilized approach, misjudged landing flare, inadequate recovery from a bounced landing, and failure to maintain directional control. A contributing factor to the accident was the in-flight distraction. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - diverted attention, pilot in command (contributing factor) - initiated, pilot in command (cause) - flare - misjudged, pilot in command (cause) - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - recovery from bounced landing - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - Dragged wing,rotor,pod,float or tail/skid, landing - roll - terrain condition - ground ## Analysis The airplane landed hard and the left wing struck the runway. The student pilot reported that when he turned the airplane onto the final leg of the traffic pattern, he noticed smoke coming from a field close to the runway. The student pilot was worried about his flight visibility and the effects that the smoke would have on the handling characteristics of the airplane. Due to these concerns, he was less focused on his landing and approached the runway at too high of an airspeed. When the airplane touched down, it bounced three times and drifted to the left. He added right rudder to prevent the airplane from veering off of the runway and the airplane sharply turned to the right and the left wing struck the ground. The student pilot said that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. ## Factual narrative On June 22, 2006, at 0920 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 152, N5534M, landed hard and the left wing struck the runway at Buchanan Field Airport, Concord, California. Pacific States Aviation, 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 to a rib in the left wing. The pilot departed from Concord and was performing his first solo landing when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed. In a written statement, the student pilot reported that the downwind and base turn of the traffic pattern were uneventful. When he turned the airplane onto the final leg of the traffic pattern, he noticed smoke coming from a field close to the runway. The student pilot was worried about his flight visibility and the effects that the smoke would have on the handling characteristics of the airplane. Due to these concerns, he was less focused on his landing and approached the runway at too high of an airspeed. When the airplane touched down, it bounced three times and drifted to the left. He added right rudder to prevent the airplane from veering off of the runway and the airplane sharply turned to the right and the left wing struck the ground. The student pilot said that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N5534M](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5534M-2006-11-09), registration cancelled 2006-11-09, S/N 15284608, built 1980 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 152 - Registry model: [Cessna 152](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-152) (registry code 2071835) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15284608 - Engines: Textron Lycoming O-235-L2C reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Pacific States Aviation, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Departed: CCR, Concord, CA - Destination: CCR, Concord, CA - Airport: CCR, Buchanen Field, runway 19L, 2,770 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Student pilot; age 35; student; medical: class 3; flight hours: 33 total, 29 in this make and model, 33 in the last 90 days, 13 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20060622013609A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060622013609A), Jun 22, 2006: Cessna 152, Concord, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) The student pilot was on his first solo from ccr, during the landing phase the student got distracted by a nearby grass fire and was set up incorrectly… 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.