# NTSB WPR20CA302: Cessna 152, N946SF, Snohomish, WA, September 8, 2020 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Data collection · Final report - Date: September 8, 2020, 14:15 local (21:15 UTC) - Place: Snohomish, WA - Coordinates: 47.904868, -122.10274 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.9049&lon=-122.1027&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Ziegler - NTSB case key (mKey): 101943 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR20CA302 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/101943/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101943 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR20CA302 ## Probable cause The solo student pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing and his subsequent improper go-around, which resulted in an impact with terrain. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 152, 33 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=2071835), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 152, 115 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2071835), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: landing flare](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 152, 46 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md?model=2071835), [All aircraft, 1,285 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md) - [Action: delayed action](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 152, 15 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025/cases.md?model=2071835), [All aircraft, 894 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025/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: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 152, 48 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=2071835), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Cessna 152, 84 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2071835), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The solo student pilot reported that during landing, upon touchdown, the airplane bounced. The student’s flight instructor, who was at a radio, instructed him to go around so the student pilot increased the engine power, maintained the flaps at 30º, and the airplane drifted left of runway centerline. As the student pilot reached about 10 ft above the ground in a nose up attitude, the flight instructor radioed him again to “pitch down.” The student pilot then lowered the nose, but the airplane continued to drift left, impacted the adjacent grass field, and came to rest nose down. The engine truss sustained substantial damage. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N946SF](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N946SF), registered now, S/N 15282353, built 1978 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 152 (No Series) - 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: 15282353 - Year built: 1978 - Airframe hours: 13464 - Engines: Lycoming O-235=L2C 15 lbs thrust reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Snohomish Flying Service - Registered owner: Harvey Kandace A - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 6, 2020, 896 hours before - Airport: S43, Harvey Field, runway 33R, 2,672 × 36 ft, asphalt - Equipment: ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 16; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 22 total, 22 in this make and model, 1 as pilot in command, 22 in the last 90 days, 10 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 360° at 6 knots - Visibility: 9 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 76 °F, dew point 31 °F - Altimeter: 30.21 inHg - Observed at: KPAE, 10 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). - [Accident 20200908013649A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200908013649A), Sep 8, 2020: Cessna 152, Snohomish, WA, Substantial damage. A student pilot is on his second supervised solo, practicing solo take-off and landings on rwy 33R in N946SF, a Cessna 152. On his third landing, he lost… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 3, 2021, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101943. 1.8 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 1.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11409472&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120%20302_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Accident photo (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 140 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11409363&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Accident%20Photo%20302-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.