# NTSB WPR19TA142: Zenair Zenith CH 701, N396PH, Marion, VA, April 30, 2019 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Final report - Date: April 30, 2019, 18:50 local (22:50 UTC) - Place: Marion, VA - Coordinates: 36.894443, -81.350555 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.8944&lon=-81.3506&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 99404 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR19TA142 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/99404/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=99404 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR19TA142 ## Probable cause The noncertificated pilot's failure to maintain control following a bounced landing and his decision to fly the airplane without proper training. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Harris Robert W ZENITH CH 701, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=0562368), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Experience/qualifications: total experience](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02031015): Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Harris Robert W ZENITH CH 701, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02031015/cases.md?model=0562368), [All aircraft, 126 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02031015/cases.md) - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Harris Robert W ZENITH CH 701, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=0562368), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [Harris Robert W ZENITH CH 701, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=0562368), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092); cases with it: [Harris Robert W ZENITH CH 701, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=0562368), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) ## Analysis The noncertificated pilot had purchased the airplane about 3 months before the accident and was flying the airplane for the second time. During landing, the airplane descended rapidly from about 15 ft above ground level (agl), landed hard, and bounced back into the air. The pilot added full power; however, as the airplane climbed through about 20 ft agl, it dropped rapidly a second time and landed hard. The right main landing gear wheel assembly separated, and the airplane veered to the right before it came to rest upright on the edge of the runway, resulting in substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot had obtained some flight training about 18 years before the accident in a different airplane make and model. He did not obtain a certificate and had not flown since then until purchasing the accident airplane. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot’s failure to maintain control during a bounced landing. ## Factual narrative On April 30, 2019, about 1850 eastern daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Zenith CH701 airplane, N396PH, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Marion, Virginia. The noncertificated pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that he had purchased the airplane in January with the intent of obtaining his sport pilot certificate and had flown it to his home airport. The pilot stated that, on the day of the accident, he decided to fly the airplane around the airport traffic pattern "to see how it did." The accident flight was his second flight in the airplane. While landing on runway 26, the airplane descended rapidly from about 15 ft above ground level (agl), landed hard, and bounced. The pilot applied full throttle; however, as the airplane climbed through about 20 ft agl, it dropped rapidly a second time and landed hard. The right main landing gear wheel assembly separated, and the airplane veered to the right before it came to rest upright on the edge of the runway. The fuselage and left wing were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot further reported that he began learning to fly in 2001 and accumulated about 60 total hours of flight experience. He did not complete his training, nor had he flown an airplane since that time, until he purchased the accident airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N396PH](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N396PH-2020-06-04), registration cancelled 2020-06-04, S/N 7-5308, built 2007 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Zenair Zenith CH 701 - Registry model: [Harris Robert W ZENITH CH 701](https://openairdocs.org/model/harris-robert-w-zenith-ch-701) (registry code 0562368) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rotax 912S series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-912s-series) (registry code 55570, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 7-5308 - Year built: 2007 - Airframe hours: 3 - Engines: Rotax 912 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, April 1, 2019, 3 hours before - Departed: MKJ, Marion, VA - Destination: MKJ, Marion, VA - Airport: MKJ, Mountain Empire, runway 26, 5,252 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 91; injuries: none; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 60 total, 1 in this make and model, 40 as pilot in command, 0 in the last 90 days, 0 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 4,900 ft overcast - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 59 °F - Altimeter: 30.26 inHg - Observed at: KMKJ ## 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 20190430003619A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190430003619A), Apr 30, 2019: Harris Robert W ZENITH CH 701, Marion, VA, Substantial damage. This narrative is based on an on-site examination of the aircraft wreckage, runway damage caused by the accident, and ^owner/^pilot's statement to NTSB… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 23, 2021, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=99404. 547 KB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 7 pages, 499 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8045471&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Record of conversation - pilot (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 48 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8045672&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation%20Pilot-Rel.pdf 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.