- Date
- May 27, 1993, 10:48 local (16:48 UTC)
- Place
- Cheyenne, WY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N43LLCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 17, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930527015409A
- Case key
- 41713
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. Factors include strong crosswinds, downdrafts, and an excessive descent rate.
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 student pilot, who was on a solo cross country flight, tried to land long in a strong and variable crosswind. When the aircraft entered a downdraft, the student pilot was unable to exercise adequate remedial action to stop the excessive rate of descent. The aircraft therefore landed hard, bounced twice, and experienced a nose gear collapse upon final touchdown.
Factual narrative
On May 27, 1993, at 1048 mountain daylight time (MDT), a Cessna 152, N43LL, experienced a gear collapse during a hard landing at Cheyenne Airport, Cheyenne, Wyoming. The FAA certificated student pilot was not injured, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The solo cross country flight, which departed Jeffco Airport, Denver, Colorado at 0953 MDT, was in visual meteorological conditions at the time of the accident. The aircraft, which had its ELT activated by the impact, was on a VFR flight plan at the time of the accident.
The student pilot, who had 42 hours total time, said that he was about 300 feet down the runway, and about 40 feet in the air, while attempting to land long in strong variable crosswinds. He said that he hit a strong downdraft, and the aircraft began to descend at an excessive rate. He was unable to arrest the descent rate in time to keep the aircraft from landing hard and bouncing back into the air. The aircraft bounced twice, and on its third contact with the runway, the nose gear collapsed, and the nose of the aircraft impacted the runway. After the nose touched the runway, the aircraft slid off the side of the concrete surface into the dirt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N43LL
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 152-79762
- Airframe hours
- 6,463
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Colorado Aircraft Services Inc
- Registered owner
- Colorado Aircraft Services Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 19, 1993 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- BJC · Denver, CO
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- CYS · Cheyenne Airport, runway 26, 9,200 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 24
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 42 total · 42 in this make and model · 7 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CYS, 1 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.