WPR11LA443

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 152 · Redlands, CA · September 6, 2011

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
September 6, 2011, 10:05 local (17:05 UTC)
Place
Redlands, CA
Injuries
2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N4649LCessna 152
Defining event
Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report November 3, 2014
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Western Pacific Region
Parties
Federal Aviation Administration
FAA report
20110906022709A
Case key
81767

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 flight instructor’s delayed remedial action and failure to maintain airplane control while performing a simulated aborted landing.

Findings · 3

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.

Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · Instructor/check pilotCessna 152: 115 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause
Performance/control parametersAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintainedCessna 152: 13 casesAll aircraft: 1,269 casesProbable cause
Action: delayed actionPersonnel issues › Action/decision · Instructor/check pilotCessna 152: 15 casesAll aircraft: 894 casesProbable cause

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 flight instructor reported that, during a solo training flight, which included an unusual attitude recovery from an aborted landing, he told the student pilot to set up the approach. As the airplane entered the landing flare, the flight instructor pitched the airplane for a higher-than-normal attitude to simulate a balloon effect. Once the airplane started to "slow/stall," the flight instructor told the student pilot to perform a go-around. The student pilot advanced the throttle full forward, but it took "a full second" for the engine to achieve full power, and, by that time, the airplane had stalled and was left of the runway centerline. The flight instructor took the controls and corrected the airplane to the right. The airplane subsequently struck the runway in a left-wing-low attitude, bounced two times, and came to rest adjacent to the runway. A witness to the accident reported that the engine was producing power at the time of the accident.

Factual narrative

On September 6, 2011, at 1005 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 152, N4649L, landed hard on runway 26 at Redlands Municipal Airport (REI), Redlands, California. Accelerated 360 operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and student were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight, and no flight plan had been filed.The CFI reported that part of the preparation training for a flight students' first solo was to cover ballooning and recovery procedures from a failed landing. They had already been flying for an hour when the CFI realized that she had not covered that portion of the flight. The CFI had the student set up for the maneuver by making a fast approach. Once they were in the flare for landing, the CFI pitched the nose up higher than the normal pitch attitude angle, which simulated the balloon affect. Once the airplane began to slow/stall, they proceeded to end the maneuver. She instructed the student to perform a go around. The student applied full power by advancing the throttle; however, it took a full second for the engine to achieve full power. By that time, the airplane had stalled and was left of centerline. The CFI reported that she corrected the airplane to the right, but that the airplane was falling quickly. It struck the ground, the nose wheel snapped off, and then the propeller struck the ground. The airplane remained upright, and slid forward to a stop. According to a witness on the tarmac at the time of the accident, he heard the airplane, turned toward the runway, and saw the airplane rolling westbound down the runway. At that point all three wheels were on the ground. He stated that the airplane did not have enough power to take off, but had too much power to have just landed. He continued to watch the airplane to see if it was going to try and takeoff again. The witness stated that he thought the airplane had a medium power setting. He watched the airplane as it ballooned off the ground at an approximate angle of 45 degrees. It reached a height of about 50 feet, and then dipped back down toward the runway. The left wing struck the ground, and then bounced off the runway again, this time reaching an approximate height of 30 feet above the ground. At this point the airplane was in a nose down attitude and impacted the ground adjacent to the runway. The witness went to render assistance, and as the CFI exited the airplane, she indicated that she was at the flight controls at the time of the accident. The pilot did not complete the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator aircraft Accident/Incident Form, 6120.1/2.

Aircraft

Registration
N4649L
Reported as
Cessna 152
Category
Airplane
Serial number
15284206
Built
1980
Engine
Lycoming O-235-L2C, 115 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Operator
Accelerated 360
Registered owner
Sky Gate Aviation Inc
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Utility
Departed
REI · Redlands, CA
Destination
REI · Redlands, CA
Airport
REI · Redlands Municipal Airport, runway 26, 4,505 × 75 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
Flight instructor
Age
28
Injuries
None
Certificates
Flight instructor, Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
Seat
Right

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Calm
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
88 °F, dew point 48 °F
Altimeter
29.94 inHg
Observed at
SBD, 4 nm away

Docket · 3

The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 26, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 75 KB 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.