Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
THE STUDENT PILOT'S IMPROPER RECOVERY FROM A BOUNCED LANDING WHICH RESULTED IN A LOSS OF DIRECTIONAL CONTROL. A FACTOR WAS THE STUDENT PILOT'S IMROPER LANDING FLARE, WHICH RESULTED IN A HARD LANDING.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On Tuesday, May 3, 1994 at 1615 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N5359H, registered to Northstar Aero Services, Inc., and piloted by John O. Zimmer, sustained substantial damage during a landing at the Ellington Airport, Ellington, Connecticut. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was being conducted under 49 CFR Part 91.
The student pilot was performing a landing on runway 19, which was 1800 feet long and 50 feet wide. In his report, he stated:
The rear wheels of the aircraft hit the ground hard causing the plane to balloon back up into the air about 15'. I tried to soften the landing by giving the plane a little power. The aircraft then began to drift to the left so I gave it some right rudder....The aircraft...came down hard on the runway....the plane drifted off the runway into the grass....into a field. The aircraft flipped over...
Federal Aviation Administration Inspector, A.G. Olmstead, Jr., stated in a report:
No physical evidence could be found at the site to show a mechanical failure of brakes or steering that would have allowed the aircraft to veer off the runway.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# NYC94LA077