- Date
- August 7, 2024, 19:15 local (Aug 8, 2024, 02:15 UTC)
- Place
- Hawthorne, CA · HHR
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N552GCRenquist George GS-2 Sportsman
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20240807015839A
- Case key
- 194909
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 crew’s failure to maintain airspeed during a short field landing and the instructor’s delayed remediation, which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 2
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.
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 pilot and owner of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that he was performing a short field approach with a flight instructor. During the landing, the instructor took control of the aircraft and pulled the control stick back, to increase the airplane’s pitch, and did not increase engine power. The airspeed decayed and the airplane experienced an aerodynamic stall and landed hard. The flight instructor reported that the sport pilot/owner was at the controls during the short field approach, and he had been talking him through the approach. On final approach, the instructor told the pilot to lower the nose and add power. Subsequently, the flight instructor applied full engine power, however, the airplane landed hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The instructor and the pilot both reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N552GC
- Reported as
- Renquist George GS-2 Sportsman
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 7266
- Built
- 2008
- Airframe hours
- 898.6
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · June 1, 2024 · 20.81 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- KHHR · Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne Municipal Airport, runway 25, 4,884 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Handheld GPS, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder, Onboard weather, Satellite tracking device, Stall warning system, Video recording device, ADS-B
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 36
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Sport Pilot, Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 30, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 88 total · 44 in this make and model · 37 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 13,211 total · 2 in this make and model · 13,023 as pilot in command · 71 in the last 90 days · 35 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- KHHR
- METAR
- KHHR 080153Z 27005KT 10SM CLR 22/17 A2994 RMK AO2 SLP136 T02220172
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 27, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.3 MB 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.